Virtual Reality as an Innovative and Mindful Approach to Advance Patient Centered Care in the Twenty-First Century
摘要
Access to cost-effective and user-friendly immersive technology or extended reality (XR) systems has ushered in new opportunities for healthcare providers to extend their reach by offering unique patient-centered approaches to extending care in a variety of settings; this includes in the clinic, inpatient environments, or outpatient settings. An ever-expanding body of literature now supports safety and efficacy for multiple use cases for XR as well as reporting that patients have a high degree of satisfaction with these systems. The most common types of XR that a clinician may want to familiarize themselves with are virtual reality (VR); augmented reality (AR); and mixed reality (MR). While the technology is viewed as safe with a very low risk of side effects, there are exclusion criteria, and with all clinical interventions, a patient-centered approach should be employed while considering the use of this technology.