Technology Goes Into Patient Care
Technology is exploring ways to improve the patient experience through virtual reality. Tufts Medical Center marks a first by giving patients the chance to familiarize themselves with the people, spaces, and instruments that may be used before undergoing a procedure.
“There’s nothing that will ever substitute for the face-to-face, clinician-patient interaction,” Carey Kimmelstiel, director of the Interventional Cardiology Center at Tufts, said in the release. “But, as they say, an educated consumer is the best consumer. We want any removal of trepidation that can ease patient concerns and [facilitate] a more seamless interaction.”
The Future of Patient Care
In partnership with digital agency, Primacy, patients now have the option to experience a 360 degree view of the facility to explore, thus allowing them to fully immerse themselves in the experience.
This also presents new inroads for virtual reality into more practical applications beyond entertainment.
“It’s a work in progress, but the technology is truly astounding,” Kimmelstiel notes. “When you’re using it, you’re not limited to a screenshot—you can really get a feel for the space. We’ll be able to tell hesitant patients, ‘Go home at your leisure, take a look at this, and think about questions you might not have thought to ask earlier.'”
There’s nothing that will ever substitute for the face-to-face, clinician-patient interaction,” he notes. “But, as they say, an educated consumer is the best consumer. We want any removal of trepidation that can ease patient concerns and [facilitate] a more seamless interaction.”
Share This Article