Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Feb 9, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Jan 26, 2025 - Mar 23, 2025
Date Accepted: Apr 30, 2025
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Ecological Sustainability and Digital Health: Aligning with the Goals of the Planetary Health Concept – a scoping review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Background:
Climate change, driven by greenhouse gas emissions, threatens human health and biodiversity. While the digitalization of healthcare, including telemedicine and artificial intelligence, offers sustainability benefits, it also raises concerns about energy use and electronic waste. Balancing these factors is key to a sustainable healthcare future.
Objective:
Objectives: The objective of this review was to examine the extent to which digitalization in the healthcare sector influences environmental sustainability. Specifically, it aimed to assess how digitalization can contribute to reducing the healthcare sector’s impact on global climate change. From these findings, conclusions were drawn regarding the extent to which digitalization aligns with the objectives of the Planetary Health movement and how these two movements may mutually reinforce each other.
Methods:
Method: A scoping review, guided by PRISMA 2020 [1], using databases such as PubMed and Scopus, 58 quantitative studies from 2009 to 2024 were analyzed for environmental, social, and economic outcomes aligned with Planetary Health goals.
Results:
Results:
The review analyzed 58 studies on the environmental impact of digitalization in healthcare, primarily focusing on telemedicine, which was examined in 91.38% of the studies. The majority of studies quantified transport-related emissions avoided through digitalization, with some also assessing emissions from healthcare facilities, medical equipment, and energy consumption. Findings indicated that telemedicine significantly reduces CO₂ emissions, with total avoided emissions amounting to approximately 830 million kgCO₂, and additional benefits observed in social and economic aspects, such as patient satisfaction, time savings, and cost reductions. However, only a few studies evaluated the full life cycle impact of digital technologies, highlighting the need for further research on their long-term environmental sustainability.
Conclusions:
Conclusion: The review calls for further research beyond telemedicine, advocating for life cycle analyses and actionable strategies for a sustainable digitalization in healthcare systems. The Planetary Health framework is highlighted as a guide for ensuring sustainable digital transformation in healthcare.
Citation
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.