The Blurring Boundaries
With blurring boundaries, between digital and physical world, the human interaction with information technology (IT) and digital data is undergoing a dramatic disruption. Reality technologies are already affecting the human-machine interface, and its impact will be felt across every consumer-facing and professional enterprise IT product and service market including Healthcare Digital Transformation.
In Healthcare, digital reality is solving real world challenges of the stakeholders across care continuum - be it payers, providers, physicians, patients etc. transforming how care is provided to patients. Benefits include - reducing doctor visits, more convenience for patients, pain alleviation, new means to training doctors, customized/personalized care and more!
How Reality Technologies Plays a Vital Role in Defining Healthcare ‘Experiences’
Recent findings from AAMC projects that there will be a shortage of both - primary care physicians and specialists in the near future making it difficult for people to get preventive health care services and immediate access to necessary care for emergencies. Fixing this shortage in care continuum requires a multipronged approach to healthcare that includes innovations in team-based care and better use of technology to make care more effective and efficient. This is where reality technologies - VR/AR can be used for a variety of therapeutic and non-therapeutic purposes allowing us to achieve key healthcare reform goals and, thus, achieve better quality of healthcare that are more accessible and affordable at the same time.
Some of the best use cases of Augmented Reality (AR) making a difference in medicine and healthcare includes better and improved training with live 3D models, enhanced convenience and access to care for both patients and care givers through telemedicine, assistance in surgery to the doctors by collaborating in real-time and more. The combination of different sensory inputs, live 3d models for visualizations and access to reach where real life scenarios could be threatening for someone – all this together makes the future of AR more promising.
On the other hand, Virtual Reality (VR) is already playing a vital role in alleviating pain and helping with physical therapy for patients whose progress has been otherwise not so great. The ability to take oneself into a completely different, immersive world with VR offers immense hope for better pain recovery and rehabilitation of such patients in a controlled environment. For example, a traumatized person can be safely exposed to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) triggers, desensitizing under the supervision of a counsellor. VR is also proving to be very helpful in planning of complicated surgeries that allows doctors to apprehend complications based on the interactive virtual model of the procedure in question promising better success rates on challenging cases.
Steps Towards Re-imagining Healthcare with Reality Technologies
According to a report by Grand View Research, the global augmented reality & virtual reality in healthcare market is expected to reach USD 5.1 billion by 2025. To ensure one is prepared for the opportunities that Reality technologies offer in enhanced care, it is important that the healthcare ecosystem leverages the future capability offered by the digital ecosystem to augment its offerings. Below are some important steps that can help a healthcare enterprise build a roadmap for its growth.
.png)
Creating Competency
As reality technologies are comparatively new in market with unique challenges and demands, it is important to figure out how competent an organization is at handling the technology, content and the supporting device aspects of the AR/ VR technology. Mapping internal champions who are adept and aware of the technologies in point and a detailed understanding of what would be needed to be outsourced to function at ones best will be the first step in re-imagining the organizations capabilities and paving the path for a better healthcare foundation. For example – If your organization has great technology expertise in AR/VR but is not adept at supporting the device ecosystem, or the media perspective, then looking for a right partner to create a better ecosystem could be best course of action to build competency.
Finding the Right Partner(s)
Competency can be inherent or acquired. Finding the right partners who share a similar vision of growth and who maps with your values to complement your offering – be it technology, content or device often results in a win-win scenario. An understanding of your own organization’s internal competency and an internal audit of the centralized structure of managing your AR/VR efforts will go a long way in providing lasting value.
Focus Together
Once the right partner is identified, it is important to ensure both focus on a collective goal that solves a targeted issue and in turn enhances the competence and value of the organization with the collaborative effort.
Update and Integrate
Enhance/update current infrastructure to integrate AR/VR seamlessly with focused efforts.
Once, the above steps are taken care of and the Reality technologies becomes a part of organizations inherent capability, organizations can focus on the limitless possibilities in innovation and enhanced experience with that AR/VR has to offer.
We at HARMAN DTS have deep technology expertise in the areas of virtual and augmented reality AR and VR) and have the backing of right partners in the digital ecosystem to enable next-generation connected solutions. If you are looking forward to know more on how we can partner with you explore and develop virtual and augmented reality experiences for your businesses, please feel free to talk to us.
