Talk to anyone working in healthcare IT, and you’ll hear the same thing: the pressure is mounting. Virtual care, real-time monitoring, and data-hungry AI applications are pushing infrastructure to its limits. What once ran just fine on-prem now buckles under the weight of new demands. And with telehealth set to drive 25–30% of U.S. medical visits by 2026, the systems supporting care delivery need more than minor upgrades—they need a reset. Digital care is here. And that means data centers for healthcare must evolve to match both the pace and complexity of modern medicine.
Telehealth Isn’t a Bonus; It’s a Baseline
Most patients now expect the option to meet with a doctor online. More than 6 in 10 Americans have used telehealth, and the majority believe it’s a permanent fixture in healthcare. Behind every virtual consult is a massive amount of data — real-time video, high-res imaging, continuous vital tracking — moving between patient and provider. Modern healthcare systems require infrastructure that provides the following:
- Low latency for real-time virtual consultations: Even the slightest delays can result in costly errors. Real-time communication helps ensure positive patient outcomes.
- Redundant connections for mission-critical services: Patients expect reliable and immediate access to telehealth. That means data centers need to deliver redundant connections, regardless of hardware failures, outages, or maintenance.
- Advanced security controls for patient privacy: Patient trust depends on confidentiality, which means healthcare IT environments must prioritize privacy from the ground up.
Data centers that offer direct cloud on-ramps and multi-carrier connectivity — like Element Critical’s sites — let healthcare providers stay connected and secure.
Power, Cooling, and Sustainability
U.S. demand for data center electricity may double to 1,065 TWh by 2030. In addition to straining power grids, this also means higher expenses and increased environmental emissions, which pose significant risks to healthcare operations. For providers, that can translate into higher operating costs, increased exposure to outages, and pressure to meet sustainability goals under tighter scrutiny. That’s why healthcare providers are proactively seeking infrastructure partners who demonstrate a genuine commitment to energy efficiency in their operations.
Element Critical focuses on both cooling efficiency and energy transparency. Across key markets like Austin and Houston, facilities are built to support high-density computing with tailored cooling designs, including liquid-to-chip and immersion systems. These data centers operate at low PUE targets to ensure energy is used where it matters most. Element Critical also powers its Texas sites with 100% renewable energy and, thanks to green power purchasing, empowers customers to capture both climate benefits and stabilize cost with zero complexity.
Regulatory Compliance
Healthcare data doesn’t come with second chances. Privacy laws exist for good reason, and the penalties for failure — whether legal, reputational, or clinical — are steep. IT leaders need infrastructure that can carry the weight of that responsibility.
Data centers play a vital role in compliance by providing secure, reliable infrastructure for storing and managing sensitive patient data. Element Critical’s security protocols align with healthcare requirements, giving compliance-heavy teams the foundation they need for patient trust and legal assurance.
Business Continuity and Uptime
Downtime in healthcare can be catastrophic. Every minute offline delays treatment and threatens patient safety. Element Critical’s data centers are designed with infrastructure that stays online even during outages, network failures, or equipment issues. We also provide services around the clock, and this requires that redundancy is built into all systems and protocols.
Most cloud providers offer an industry-standard five-nine uptime, or 99.999% uptime. Though this alludes to nearly continuous uptime, a data center that supplies 99.999% uptime still has the potential to experience almost six minutes of downtime annually. Element Critical guarantees 100% uptime backed by a customer SLA.
Element Critical Empowers Healthcare IT
Element Critical structures its infrastructure and services around real-world healthcare demands.
- Seamless hybrid access: Healthcare teams often juggle local systems and public cloud environments. That’s why Element Critical offers dedicated private links to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. These connections bypass the public internet, accelerating access to medical images and analytics while maintaining predictable performance.
- Scalable capacity: Growth in healthcare IT is constant—from new AI-driven tools to virtual care expansion. Element Critical’s facilities are designed to flex with demand. From single cabinets to high-density suites, customers can scale workloads without rearchitecting or relocating. That flexibility supports healthcare organizations that need room to grow without exceeding their budgets. Learn more.
- Security designed for healthcare: Data protection isn’t optional in healthcare. Element Critical builds compliance into the foundation of each facility, meeting standards like HIPAA, SOC 2, and ISO 27001. Access is tightly controlled. Monitoring is continuous. And all systems are designed to help organizations meet security requirements without adding unnecessary overhead. Explore compliance features.
- Always-on support: Downtime doesn’t align with patient care. That’s why Element Critical staffs its facilities 24/7 with trained technicians. Whether responding to an alert, replacing hardware, or helping with configuration, the team is always available to step in. No waiting, no escalations, just action when it’s needed.
The Backbone of Today’s Healthcare IT
Healthcare IT isn’t just about keeping systems running — it’s about building trust, providing better patient care, and using the latest technology to stay ahead. Element Critical delivers a comprehensive solution with the right mix of capacity, connectivity, and compliance. This enables hospitals, clinics, and telehealth operations to focus on care with confidence that their infrastructure will not let them down.
When your focus is patient care, your data center should be an extension of your team. We specialize in crafting customized, dependable solutions for healthcare providers. Reach out to our team today – we’re not just service providers; we’re partners, offering tailored solutions to meet your unique needs.