“It’s almost as simple as putting the goggles over the patients and letting them do it. Embrey, the staff in his emergency department are “very engaged” with the new technology, and he has not received any pushback. Using the virtual reality equipment really helps relieve their stress and anxiety.”Īccording to Dr. “Children tend to be concerned about whether they’ll get stuck with a needle or whatever might happen to them, and even something like putting an IV in or cleaning a wound can make them more anxious than adults. Everett Embrey, chairman of the emergency department at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, says the solution has been particularly useful with pediatric patients. So, with help from AppliedVR and our nursing director, we’ve trained the staff to determine which patients are the best fit.”ĭr. “This is a medical intervention, not just entertainment, and not everybody in the emergency department is experiencing anxiety or pain. “We don’t want to add anything to the situation that doesn’t have a reason to be there,” he says. Pianta points out that not every patient is a good candidate. Now, when a patient comes into the emergency department who might be a good candidate for the solution, the staff introduces the technology, selects the appropriate content on the smartphone and puts the headset and headphones on the patient. “However you want to look at it, VR is a fairly low-risk intervention with a potentially really high positive yield.” “The literature convinced me it was worth giving it a try,” says Pianta.
So, Pianta called the CEO of AppliedVR, Josh Sackman, who sent him a comprehensive list of research demonstrating the clinical value of virtual reality in healthcare, including compelling data from a research study from AppliedVR. “If we can help control that without giving medication - which just introduces new risks - that speaks for itself.”ĭuring this research, he came across an article about AppliedVR, the first virtual reality platform designed to help manage pain and anxiety in a clinical setting. “Pain and anxiety can have negative effects on the patient experience and health outcomes,” explains Pianta. Pianta points out that ER visits and hospitalization can be stressful, especially for children, and that pain is one of the chief complaints from patients. “I wasn’t really looking for a problem to solve, just staying up to date on options.”
“A lot of my work is focused around just reviewing the landscape and finding out what’s out there in terms of the latest technology,” says Pianta. And that’s exactly what Thomas Pianta thought when he read about virtual reality in healthcare.Īs strategy and growth officer for Inova Mount Vernon, Pianta is responsible for bringing technological innovation to the award-winning hospital and its new state-of-the-art emergency department. Managing anxiety and pain without medication certainly adds value.
Nurses and physicians are already overburdened and tend to resist additions to their workflow, unless those solutions are convenient and have clinical value. Introducing new technology in a hospital can be tough, especially in the emergency department.