Treat Chronic Pain and Promote Patient Independence with Virtual Reality

Software specialists have partnered with the healthcare industry to reduce expenses and work to optimize processes to enhance resources to elevate patient care. The success of software-based resources within several industries and the growing trend and implementation of Artificial Intelligence have led the healthcare industry toward modernity as officials seek new strategies to assist patients with pain management while slowly reducing the industry's significant expenses. Virtual reality enhanced by software specialists could be the next gateway for facilitating a more independent and active role for patients within their treatment plans.

Virtual reality as a treatment for chronic pain requires a patient to be receptive to alternative treatment options. Software designers have included narration in VR programs to guide patients through their individualized care plans gently. The narration can be customized to include soothing guidance to direct breathing exercises to relax a patient while accompanied by imagery that replaces traditional healthcare settings, such as a doctor's office. The settings can prove more relaxing than typical healthcare settings, facilitating a calmer patient experience. Healthcare providers and advocates have agreed that patient stress and anxiety contribute to unsuccessful care plans. However, with VR customized by software experts, this resource may present the least invasive path for reducing patient anxiety. Healthcare providers have also reported VR's implementation within cancer treatment plans and as a post-surgery resource for reducing pain.

Official Endorsements Lead the Way for Implementation

The Food and Drug Administration's official endorsement of utilizing VR technology to cope with chronic back pain provides much-needed reinforcement of the technology's value as an alternative treatment source. The U.S. healthcare system remains reliant on drug-based treatment plans, leading to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting the U.S. opioid prescription rate per 100 people is 43.3, with a steady annual increase projected. Software developers can provide healthcare providers with a drug-free treatment resource for patients with VR and new developments within Artificial Intelligence, a key driver of several industries that have already successfully optimized workflow tasks. Virtual reality is not designed to eliminate prescription medication, but it may reduce over-reliance on prescription medications as the focus of patient treatment plans.

Augmenting Healthcare Training with Virtual Reality

Training is integral for the success of any industry, and as healthcare continues to intersect with technology, the need for effective training remains more vital. Virtual reality programmed by software specialists offers healthcare providers a new, cutting-edge resource that can be utilized for creating the least-invasive surgical procedures for patients suffering from chronic pain. VR platforms programmed to follow surgical procedures enable surgeons to carefully plan and practice procedures that seek the least invasive paths for successful outcomes.

Traditional surgery protocols will not be replaced, but through innovative and immersive experiences, surgeons can reduce procedure times, reduce expenses, and minimize patient anxiety by engaging in AR-based procedure practicums. This enables surgeons with unprecedented opportunities to receive real-time feedback and nuanced corrective action plans. VR resources enable unprecedented opportunities for surgeons and healthcare providers to practice patient care plans and engage in individualized instruction before implementation, nearly eliminating excessive time spent crafting and deploying treatment plants that may prove costly and ineffective.

Healthcare's Intersection with Technology Proves Successful

The healthcare industry remains receptive to new tech-based strategies that offer new avenues for optimization and elevated patient care. Software developers successfully streamlined workflow and customized electronic health records to facilitate unprecedented interoperability between healthcare institutions. Still, the U.S. healthcare system remains in a quandary with responding to calls for expense reduction while offering individualized treatment plans that exceed outcome-based healthcare models.

We see the advent of Artificial Intelligence as a versatile resource that empowers healthcare providers to proactively create individualized treatment plans, but coupled with VR tech-enhanced by software specialists, we see the successful modernization of medicine coming to fruition quicker than originally planned. Utilizing VR to mitigate chronic pain amongst patients allows for new treatment options that are not always exclusively reliant on prescription drugs, allowing the healthcare industry to reduce prescribing powerful prescription drugs to mitigate chronic pain experienced by patients.