Health systems using holograms to keep patients engaged

A hospital in Texas made headlines this spring by becoming what is believed to be the first to offer virtual visits with physicians via holograms. The technology, while still relatively new in health care, could one day be part of office waiting rooms or other clinic locations.

It's a tech trend worth tracking.

Crescent Regional Hospital, an acute care hospital in Lancaster, Texas, partnered with a technology company called Holoconnects, which produces box-like devices that can display a life-sized holographic image. The hospital installed its first 86-inch display and video studio, with plans to install smaller 24-inch displays at several locations throughout the hospital and associated clinics, according to a news release.

"Teleporting our doctors in real-time as a life-sized hologram to speak with our patients from any location saves them valuable time and also gives our patients access to the health care they deserve," said Raji Kumar, CEO and managing partner of the hospital, in a prepared statement.

How it works

A story from WFAA posted on CNN.com explains the process. A doctor at one location can sit in front of a studio setup with a microphone, camera and monitor while a life-sized holographic image of the doctor appears on the box device at another location, such as in front of a patient.

Just as with telehealth, the doctor and patient can talk or the doctor can look at a rash or watch a patient walk, etc. but the screen is life-sized so the patient can see the doctor's full body, as if they are chatting face-to-face.

The hospital plans to use these for situations such as virtual consultations pre- and post-surgery, virtual rounds with inpatients and hospitalists to discuss treatment plans, collaborative care planning with teams, and educating patients about things like medical conditions or post-discharge care, the news release said. Doctors could potentially "teleport" into emergency rooms, the WFAA story said.

Responses

Some experts expressed skepticism to the New York Times over whether this is any better than telehealth options for patients. But others are bullish on the technology.

Holograms can become "extremely impactful" for patient interactions, caregiver training, serving as virtual greeters and more, said Cole Weiser, executive creative director and partner at the Virtual Wild, a digital innovation firm, in an interview on HIMSS TV.

"They're an incredible new technology that is a great, versatile tool for many applications," he said. "Everyone has been in a room with a doctor with an archaic piece of paper and pointing to it with their pencil to explain something. Especially in the health care space where there's already emotions involved, there's already confusion, a better explanatory technology is sorely needed to show somebody a medical diagnosis with a 3D animation of a body or to be able to point to a part of the body and have a fly-through [of] a blood vein. I think better visuals lead to better outcomes for patients and better experiences for the provider."

Some review papers in the medical literature have noted that mixed reality programs including holograms could help surgeons planning procedures by allowing them to zoom in and study a patient's specific medical anomaly or tumor. In some other uses of holograms:

• During an AHCJ Health Journalism conference field trip in Cleveland, I was able to try on a headset for a program used at Case Western Reserve University that uses holograms to tease out and teach anatomy to medical students.
• In England, learners at Cambridge University Hospitals can don a mixed-reality headset for training and interact with a life-like holographic patient, according to an article from the university.

Also, though not a hologram, UCHealth in Colorado has a free app for patients that has an augmented reality feature through which patients waiting at a clinic or home can click and play with a virtual dog, Healthcare IT News reported. People can name the dog, offer it treats, throw a ball or ask the dog to follow simple commands.

Other industries starting to embrace holograms include hotels, to offer virtual check-in services and answer queries.

Questions for journalists

Beyond the novelty of these technologies, it's always a good idea to try to assess the benefits. Ask questions like why a particular hospital or health system is trialing or adopting a technology: What do they hope to achieve? How much does it cost? Who is testing it? What data or statistics are they using to measure success? What are its limitations? As always, if one hospital or expert says it's great, seek out a second and or third opinion.

Resources

• Your Hologram Doctor Will See You Now - story from the New York Times.
• Hologram in this hospital allows doctors to "teleport" to meet patients - story from CNN.com.
• Patient waiting rooms are starting to make use of holograms - story on HIMSS TV.
• UCHealth launches its first mobile AR experience for patients - story from Healthcare IT News.
• HoloAnatomy app helps medical students learn anatomy - video on YouTube from Case Western Reserve University.