The metaverse refers to immersive technologies such as extended reality (XR), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR.) These immersive technologies have the potential to help healthcare organizations improve health equity and reach other goals, from workforce shortages to patient engagement. Here are just two of the many ways that these technologies can be used to improve healthcare delivery:
VR and the nursing shortage
Leveraging VR to expedite and augment nursing orientation can creatively address nursing shortages and their health equity impacts, including limited access to and increased cost of care, while simultaneously enhancing training effectiveness and enterprise connectivity. VR training is reported to be four times more effective than in-person training. VR enables health organizations to use resources beyond the geographic bounds of a given campus and encourages enterprise-wide collaboration. VR solutions can exist across a spectrum of hybrid to immersive orientation modalities and are customizable to accommodate a health organization’s physical, technological, geographic and health preferences. VR’s ability to train nurses on a range of cultural care scenarios better equips them to be aware of possible cultural biases, sensitized to cultural concerns and capable of becoming more culturally competent in working with a diverse range of patients.
XR and preventive care
Having patients explore the health environment before receiving care would be a significant step forward in preventive care and in facilitating preparation for medical procedures. XR can help build trust and offer easier access to care. Before undergoing a procedure, patients could explore the facility with a virtual reality setup by their health insurer. The virtual tour guide can look like the patient and speak without jargon. Patients can have a better understanding of what to expect, and the virtual tour guide can also handle all the paperwork, so when patients arrive for an appointment, there is no waiting. Patients can feel informed, empowered and more in control of their health.
Getting started
A metaverse strategy is essentially a channel strategy, much like telehealth. Companies should think holistically across all channels (telehealth, virtual, inpatient, ambulatory, etc.) to determine where the metaverse can play a role and help improve health equity and healthcare delivery. Similar to the approach to using other emerging technologies, companies should:
- Start by assembling the right experience team internally and establishing intentional collaborations.
- Assume an agile approach and lead with inclusive design.
- Launch on a small scale.
- Quickly prioritize a use case to focus on and monitoring performance against it.
- Use lessons learned to fuel future development and scaling.
To hear a discussion on this topic, listen to the PwC Next in Health podcast on immersive technology and learn more about PwC metaverse services.