Sustainable Healthcare: Reducing the Energy Burden and Environmental Impact of Caregiving

The following is a guest article by Steve Lazer, Global Healthcare and Life Sciences CTO at Dell Technologies Healthcare services play a vital role in enhancing human well-being, but it’s essential to recognize that they also leave an environmental footprint contributing to environment-related health threats.  According to a report from the environmental advocacy group Health Care Without Harm, the U.S. healthcare industry is responsible for 7.6 percent of the nation’s total “climate footprint.” While this might seem like a relatively low number, when we are talking about working towards a net zero economy, every industry’s emissions add up. At Dell Technologies, we understand the significance of sustainability in healthcare and aim to help address the industry’s environmental impact. From a carbon footprint and renewables perspective, healthcare is one of the most challenging sectors within which to reach a level of sustainability. When addressing sustainability, we can look at emissions in the following way: direct emissions from equipment and vehicles, energy consumed at care facilities, and the creation and disposal of medical waste. Direct Emissions One of the main ways to lower emissions is through building automation. Building Automation Systems are centralized, computer-based systems that use sensors, controllers, and other devices to monitor and control a variety of building systems, including heating, ventilation, air conditioning,...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Ambulatory C-Suite Leadership Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System IT Infrastructure and Dev Ops LTPAC Climate Footprint Dell Technologies Emissions Energy Consumption Healthcare Climate Crisis Healthcare Costs Source Type: blogs