The "digital hospital" is just one indicator of how healthcare has become part of the Green ICT "Total Industry" model. A 2007 report by the US Energy Information Administration showed the impact: "The 2003 Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) data showed that large hospitals (greater than 200,000 square feet) accounted for less than 1 percent of all commercial buildings and 2 percent of commercial floorspace, but consumed 4.3 percent of the total delivered energy used by the commercial sector in 2003 1. Data from the 2007 CBECS show that the major fuels (electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and district heat) consumed by large hospitals totaled 458 trillion Btu, which is 5.5 percent of the total delivered energy used by the commercial sector in 2007."

Hospitals and the healthcare facilities have begun to hear the call to action, but challenges remain.

As early as 2011, we reported that Beth-Israel Deaconess Medical Center drove its data center PUE down to 1.8. While still considerably higher than mega-data centers, this is a decent number for in-house facilities.

Beyond the data center, challenges to healthcare ICT's energy consumption include "ICT closets" and "comfort cooling".

Click on the "biomed" tag, above, to learn about other Green ICT issues in healthcare like RoHS and e-waste.