From the January/February 2018 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Medical VR: Helping me help you
Studies have shown that supplementing the traditional physician-patient interaction with more engaging visual aids such as illustrations for colonoscopy procedures will improve patient education regarding bowel preparation.
Going several steps further, beyond mere illustrations or videos, medical VR is now changing the educational potential for my patients with a new VR experience called Colon Crossing. This is an eight-minute guided tour that places patients directly inside the colon and shows them a “clean,” or well-prepped, colon. This simulation allows patients to visualize what polyps and cancer look like during the colonoscopy. By also going through a “dirty,” or poorly prepped, colon, the tool helps illustrate how easily cancer and polyps can be missed due to lack of visibility.
The software also instructs patients in the at-home bowel preparation, including what to eat and drink during the days before the procedure.
To help make sure patients have absorbed key takeaways, the tour concludes with patients taking an interactive quiz to test their knowledge.
Before the use of this VR application, the typical approach was for a nurse to communicate the information verbally to our patients often with the use of a take-home pamphlet for prepping instructions, leaving little interaction between patient and instructor. Given the often-sensitive nature of the discussion, we find that patients are often too embarrassed to ask detailed questions, and we therefore do not truly know how much information has been conveyed to the patient. This is typically the one and only encounter the patient will have prior to their colonoscopy
Medical VR is shooting colonoscopy education into the 21st century and provides an additional “wow” factor that truly engages patients’ interest. This opens a door into a new world where the patient can actually visualize the inside of the body and the colon, which holds patients’ attention. It has also prompted a much more meaningful dialogue between the patients and myself. This sharing of information has made patients feel more like a partner in their health care with a shared responsibility in the success of the procedure and its outcome.
We are closely evaluating how significant this educational tool will be in improving patient preparation, but we already see that it is providing a much better understanding of the value and importance of the procedure.
What once seemed like a technology that was only geared toward games and entertainment is now changing the face of medical and patient education. It allows patients to have an understanding of procedures and treatments through the eyes of the physician.
We are only beginning to understand the importance of technology in patient education and how to use this technology meaningfully to improve patient care, and that’s pretty exciting.
About the author: Dr. Jon Ernstoff is a practicing gastroenterologist and the chief of gastroenterology at Midstate Medical Center in Meriden, Conn. He holds appointments as assistant clinical professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine and Quinnipiac School of Medicine.
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