Digitalisation represents an exciting opportunity to boost sustainability right across the healthcare ecosystem. That starts with the innovation processes that, hot on the heels of the digital transformation, are now helping to accelerate the sustainability transformation.
But digital technologies in themselves also have significant potential to boost sustainability. There are plenty of examples in other sectors – the paperless office, for example, which has made it possible for large numbers of workers to work from home, saving millions of commuter miles. There are also more efficient products that, through the use of digital technologies, now consume less energy.
Sustainability transformation through digital technologies
Another highly promising area is the use of data to boost the sustainability of products and processes. Examples include reducing offcuts and waste, optimising transport routes and loads, management of expiry dates, and using predictive ordering to avoid waste. There’s so much potential in just this area alone that we’ve dedicated an entire blog post to it.
In the healthcare sector, we think there are three main areas where coherent use of digital technologies can deliver greater sustainability and accelerate the sustainability transformation:
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more efficient, more sustainable processes and products
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networking of products and manufacturing to leverage their sustainability potential
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more efficient data handling and the use of telemedicine