HCI 201 Module 5 Paper: How Can We Produce Less Waste in Health Care? Example

Reviewed by Emmett Rockwell, MBA Arizona State University Updated October 2026

This HCI 201 Module 5 sample is the waste-reduction paper in Innovations for Sustainable Health Care, an ASU Health Innovation elective on green health care. Worth 15 points, the ASU HCI 201 paper asks students to choose an existing green innovation in medicines, devices or health systems, describe it and explain three ways it supports sustainability for the industry, the community or personal health. The composite student chooses climate-smart anesthesia: replacing the anesthetic gas desflurane, lowering gas flows and capturing waste gases. Drawing on studies of the climate impact of anesthetic drugs and of the U.S. health sector, the paper explains the problem, the innovation and its three sustainability benefits.

CourseHCI 201 Innovations for Sustainable Health Care
ModuleModule 5
Paper typeInnovation research paper
LengthAbout 472 words, 4 pages
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolArizona State University
ProgramBS in Health Innovation
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for HCI 201 Module 5

1

Clearing the Air in the Operating Room: Climate-Smart Anesthesia as a Green Health Care Innovation

Student Name

BS in Health Innovation, Arizona State University

HCI 201: Innovations for Sustainable Health Care

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title names the setting and the innovation in plain words.
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Clearing the Air in the Operating Room: Climate-Smart Anesthesia as a Green Health Care Innovation

The Problem

Health care has a large environmental footprint. In 2013, the U.S. health care sector was responsible for about 10% of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, along with significant shares of other air pollution (Eckelman & Sherman, 2016). One surprisingly large source sits in the operating room. Inhaled anesthetic gases are only partly metabolized by patients; most are exhaled and vented to the outside air, where they act as potent greenhouse gases.

The Innovation

Climate-smart anesthesia combines three changes in practice and technology. First, hospitals remove or restrict desflurane, the anesthetic gas with by far the largest climate impact. Over a 20-year horizon, desflurane's global warming potential is several thousand times that of carbon dioxide, and one hour of anesthesia with it can produce many times the emissions of an equivalent hour with sevoflurane (Ryan & Nielsen, 2010). Second, anesthesia teams lower fresh gas flows so less anesthetic is wasted. Third, some hospitals install systems that capture waste anesthetic gases before they are vented, or use intravenous anesthesia where appropriate.

What this page is doingGrounding the innovation in published emissions figures shows that the green claim is measurable rather than a slogan.
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Sustainability Benefit 1: The Health Care Industry

For hospitals, the change cuts a large, avoidable share of their own emissions without new buildings or equipment. Measured over its whole life cycle, an hour of desflurane anesthesia carried roughly 15 times the climate impact of isoflurane and 20 times that of sevoflurane, and for every inhaled agent most of the harm came from gas released to the outside air (Sherman et al., 2012). Because alternative agents are available for most patients, a hospital can make large reductions quickly.

Sustainability Benefit 2: The Community

Lower emissions help slow climate change, which affects community health through heat, air pollution and extreme weather, harms that fall hardest on vulnerable neighborhoods. Health care's own pollution harms public health, so reducing it is consistent with the sector's mission (Eckelman & Sherman, 2016).

Sustainability Benefit 3: Personal Health and Patients

Switching agents does not require compromising patient care, because other anesthetics are effective for most surgeries. The same life cycle study recommends restricting desflurane and nitrous oxide to cases where they may reduce morbidity or mortality, keeping patient benefit at the center (Sherman et al., 2012). Lower gas flows also reduce waste anesthetic exposure in the operating room environment.

Barriers and Next Steps

Clinician habits and preferences slow adoption, since some anesthesiologists value desflurane's fast recovery. Education, default settings on anesthesia machines and departmental dashboards showing emissions can help. Gas capture technology adds cost but may become more affordable as demand grows.

Conclusion

Climate-smart anesthesia shows that sustainability in health care can come from changing everyday clinical choices. By retiring the highest-impact agent, using less gas and capturing what remains, hospitals can shrink a large part of their footprint while keeping patients safe.

References

Eckelman, M. J., & Sherman, J. (2016). Environmental impacts of the U.S. health care system and effects on public health. PLOS ONE, 11(6), e0157014. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157014

Ryan, S. M., & Nielsen, C. J. (2010). Global warming potential of inhaled anesthetics: Application to clinical use. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 111(1), 92-98. https://doi.org/10.1213/ANE.0b013e3181e058d7

Sherman, J., Le, C., Lamers, V., & Eckelman, M. (2012). Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of anesthetic drugs. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 114(5), 1086-1090. https://doi.org/10.1213/ANE.0b013e31824f6940

Reading the HCI 201 Module 5 assignment instructions

The waste-reduction paper in HCI 201 is worth 15 points and comes in Module 5, which examines the sustainability of health care systems, the history of technological change and frugal innovation. Identify and research an existing green, eco-friendly innovation in one of four areas named in the syllabus: the pharmaceutical industry, technological devices, personal devices or health care systems. Describe the innovation, then explain three ways it supports sustainability for the industry, the community or personal health. Choose an innovation that is already in use, not a future idea, since the final presentation is where you invent your own. Use credible sources and APA formatting, and check the Canvas rubric for length.

How the HCI 201 Module 5 example is put together

The sample opens by quantifying health care's environmental footprint, then identifies a specific, surprising source, anesthetic gases. The innovation section explains three practical changes in plain words, supported by emissions data. Three benefit sections each address one level, the industry, the community and patients, with evidence. A short section on barriers and next steps shows realism, and the conclusion links the example to everyday clinical choices. Each benefit section opens with the level it addresses, so a reader can find the three required benefits at a glance, and each rests on a peer-reviewed study rather than a company claim. Numbers are explained in plain comparisons, such as fifteen or twenty times the impact of another agent, so readers without a science background can follow them.

Where the marks sit in the HCI 201 Module 5 rubric

Graders weigh the paper's 15 points on whether the innovation is real and currently in use, that it falls within one of the four syllabus areas, that it is clearly described and that exactly three sustainability benefits are explained and supported with sources. Strong papers use numbers from credible studies and acknowledge barriers. Marks drop for vague green claims, for innovations that are only proposals, for fewer than three benefits and for missing citations or APA formatting. Graders also notice whether the student explains why the innovation works, here the fact that anesthetic gases are mostly exhaled and vented, rather than only stating that it is green. Acknowledging barriers to adoption shows the realism expected of future innovators.

HCI 201 Module 5 help with common mistakes

Search for life cycle assessments or emissions studies to find innovations with measurable benefits. Pick an innovation you can explain to a nonspecialist. Label your three benefits clearly with headings. Back each benefit with one source. Add a sentence on barriers to adoption. Torn between two innovations? Ask the desk which one has stronger data. Be wary of green marketing language; look for independent studies that measure emissions, waste or energy. Keep the description of the innovation short so most of the paper explains its benefits. Recheck each figure against the study it came from.

Write yours, or have the desk draft it

This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Arizona State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.

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More HCI 201 and BS in Health Innovation sample papers

HCI 201 Module 5 questions, answered

Where can I find a free HCI 201 Module 5 sample paper?

The full paper on climate-smart anesthesia as a green health care innovation is on this page.

How much greenhouse gas does U.S. health care produce?

An estimated 10% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2013.

Why is desflurane a climate concern?

It has a far higher global warming potential than other anesthetic gases, and most of it is vented after use.

What areas can the HCI 201 green innovation come from?

The pharmaceutical industry, technological devices, personal devices or health care systems.

How many sustainability benefits must the paper explain?

Three, for the industry, community and/or personal health.