Healthy patients, healthy planet--green recommendations for GP health promotion

Prevention of illness and early detection of disease are recognised as part of the challenge all communities face in their quest to achieve sustainability.

This article examines how the preventive health practices of general practitioners have benefits for the environment, and explores opportunities for GPs to encourage patients to maintain their health in ways that have a low environmental impact.

Our environment is threatened by the impact of human activity. Ecosystem degradation is in turn, a threat to the health and wellbeing of humans. Preventive health practices are self evidently beneficial to the health of patients. General practitioners have opportunities to modify their health promotion advice so that patients can improve their own health in ways that also help the environment.