Electricity demands in hospitals are characterized by their need for high quality, guaranteed supplies. The existence of captive electricity uses and the size and regularity of the electrical and heat loads required by hospitals are aspects that could well buttress the possibility of installing cogeneration plants fired by natural gas (CHP). The purpose of this paper is to estimate the CHP technical potential in Brazilian hospitals. Based on a classification of Brazilian hospitals by specific energy consumption indicators, this potential is assessed, taking into consideration gas fueled engines associated with absorption cooling systems. A potential figure of approximately 500 MWe was obtained, whose effective implementation runs up against the obstacles inherent to Brazil's hospital sector, listed at the end of this paper. Consequently, some actions are proposed for surmounting these barriers. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.