[Digital health: a green future for healthcare?]

Abstract

The healthcare sector is doubly affected by the climate crisis. On the one hand, the number of disease and injury cases will increase due to various effects such as heatwaves or natural disasters, further burdening the healthcare system. On the other hand, the healthcare sector itself significantly contributes to the emissions that exacerbate the climate crisis. A seemingly unsolvable vicious circle. That is why the present article discusses the relationship between digital health and sustainability in healthcare. Digital innovations such as telemedicine, digital diagnostics, or the use of artificial intelligence can increase efficiency and thus significantly relieve the burden on medical professionals. For the advantages of these technologies to outweigh inherent disadvantages like their high energy demand, digital and sustainable transformations must be addressed simultaneously. This so-called "twin transformation" shows that it can even unleash synergies. Therefore, this article describes interesting technological approaches and current research topics such as digital twins of patients and their sustainable design for healthcare. In addition, examples specific to urology are presented.