The Interplay Among Digitalization and Environmental Sustainability in Healthcare: A Systematic Literature Review

BACKGROUND: Digital health technologies promise to reduce healthcare’s environmental impact while potentially enhancing access to care. However, digitalization implies an intensification in energy use. Although institutions are pushing for the sector’s digital transformation, change is difficult due to the complex relationship between digitalization and sustainability. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review illustrates how scientific literature examines the interaction between digital technologies and environmental sustainability in healthcare. METHODS: The authors used the PRISMA model to identify 2,494 papers by initially searching the main scientific literature databases. After pairing, 38 papers were used for the review. RESULTS: The analysis of the selected papers demonstrates that digital technologies generally improve healthcare’s environmental sustainability. However, the interplay between digitalization and environmental sustainability remains far from resolved, with several emerging issues requiring further research. From a policy perspective, the growing weight of environmental considerations in healthcare practice is prompting a rethink of healthcare personnel’s professional development. CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare systems are notoriously energy-intensive, with hospitals and related infrastructure among the most resource-intensive facilities in the world. If implemented strategically, digitalization can optimize resource allocation, reduce redundancies, and streamline processes, thereby reducing healthcare’s environmental footprint.