Too many bits: tackling the waste epidemic in digital medicine.

Abstract

As digital medicine expands, the growing volume of unused (or underutilized) data are creating a hidden epidemic of technological waste. For example, the concept of a digital twin has gained rapid traction. A virtual replica to mirror an organ, physiological system or a patient to explore predictive simulation, real-time monitoring and/or “what-if” scenarios. Yet, a digital twin generates big data e.g., sensor streams, metadata, audit logs, simulations, and backups. Over time, much of that data may become dormant, but require storage. That is the burden of going digital, invisible waste with the accumulation of unused files, logs, archives, and dormant applications/apps especially in Cloud and institutional infrastructures. The environmental, financial, and operational costs of digital waste are rarely discussed in medicine (or health), yet it matters as data ecosystems scale. In contrast (physical) electronic/e-waste is broadly discussed. Here, we discuss why digital medicine researchers and institutions must take digital waste seriously. We highlight Digital Cleanup Day (21 March 2026) and raise awareness to embed data sustainability metrics into digital medicine.