Environmental impacts of a digital health and well-being service in elderly living schemes
Environmental impacts of a digital health and well-being service in elderly living schemes
复制标题
DOI：
10.1016/j.cesys.2023.100161
复制
发表时间：
2023-12
影响因子：
5
通讯作者：
Raphael Tarpani;Alejandro Gallego Schmid
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Raphael Tarpani;Alejandro Gallego Schmid
在过去十年中，数字化和数字技术（DTs）经历了快速发展，改变了现代社会中商品和服务的生产和消费方式。卫生和福利部门已经接受了这场数字革命。除了经济和社会效益外，数字化还可以显著提高患者的诊断和预后，同时提高整体服务效率。为确保长期可持续性，必须评估和减少数字服务对环境的影响。本文考察了在英国（UK）的三个老年生活计划（els）中实施的数字服务对生命周期的影响。数字服务由6个电子设备（ed）组成，可以实现居民、访客、工作人员和场外监控（OM）之间的通信。设备通过以太网供电（PoE）技术连接，其中包括智能网络交换机和不间断电源单元。该数字服务的全球变暖潜能值（GWP）估计为718-741千克二氧化碳当量。每名居民的排放量，以及1509公斤二氧化碳当量。/居民申请第三个ELS，考虑服务期为20年。造成显著差异的原因是，在第三种方案中，更多地使用空调机组为服务器机房降温，而居民人数较少。电力的消耗被发现是造成大多数环境影响的主要因素。然而，在某些类别，如矿产资源稀缺，淡水富营养化，淡水和海洋生态毒性潜力，印刷电路板（pcb）是主要贡献者。一项考虑不同国家电力结构的敏感性分析表明，法国电网促进了14个影响类别的减少，而德国、意大利、西班牙和日本电网对大多数类别的平均影响增加。另一项敏感性分析表明，减少28%的空调机组运行时间，平均减少5.5%的影响，与法国电网的结果相当。最后，将电子设备的预期寿命延长20%，对环境影响的平均降幅最高（8.1%）。虽然数字化有可能改善患者医疗保健并降低成本，但必须仔细评估其环境影响并实施缓解战略，以确保医疗保健部门的可持续发展。
Over the past decade, digitalization and digital technologies (DTs) have undergone rapid evolution, transforming how goods and services are produced and consumed in modern societies. Health and well-being sectors have embraced this digital revolution. Besides the economic and social benefits, digitalization can significantly enhance patient diagnostics and prognostics while improving overall service efficiency. To ensure long-term sustainability, it is important to assess and reduce the environmental impacts of digital services. This article examines the life cycle impacts of a digital service implemented in three elderly living schemes (ELSs) located in the United Kingdom (UK). The digital service consists of six electronic devices (EDs) that enable communication between residents, visitors, staff, and offsite monitoring (OM). The equipment is connected using Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology, which includes smart network switch and uninterruptable power supply units. The digital service's global warming potential (GWP) was estimated at 718–741 kg CO2eq./resident for two of the ELSs and 1509 kg CO2eq./resident for a third ELS, considering a service period of 20 years. The reason for the significant difference is the greater use of air conditioner (A/C) units to cool down server rooms and fewer residents in the third scheme. The consumption of electricity was found to be the main contributor to most of the environmental impacts. However, in certain categories such as mineral resource scarcity, freshwater eutrophication, and freshwater and marine ecotoxicity potentials, printed circuit boards (PCBs) were the main contributors. A sensitivity analysis considering different national electricity mixes demonstrated that the French electricity grid promoted the reduction in 14 impact categories, whereas the German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese grids increased on average impacts on most categories. Another sensitivity analysis demonstrates that reducing A/C unit running time by 28% resulted in an average impact reduction of 5.5%, becoming equivalent to the results obtained for the French electricity grid. Finally, extending the expected lifespan of electronic equipment by 20% yielded the highest average decrease in environmental impacts (8.1%). While digitalization has the potential to enhance patient healthcare and reduce costs, it is crucial to carefully assess its environmental impacts and implement mitigation strategies to ensure sustainable development in the healthcare sector.