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Hospitals launch metaverse clinics as virtual reality healthcare takes off
Yashoda Hospital joins the metaverse. Photo from Yashoda Hospitals website
ASIA PACIFIC
Indian healthcare group Yashoda Hospitals from Hyderabad is the latest healthcare provider to join the metaverse trend by buying virtual land on the platform.
In a statement, the hospital management said this move will allow the healthcare group to render its treatment on the metaverse and even employ metaversians.
Yashoda Hospitals is also the first healthcare group in India to tap the metaverse for its services.
Dr. Abhinav Gorukanti, Head of Yashoda Hospitals, said establishing their presence on decentralised land will ramp up their efforts to accept decentralised technology.
“We will continue to upgrade and invest in making our digital infrastructure futureready,” he added, pointing out that the hospital has since been open to adopting digital technology.
UAE healthcare firm starts virtual hospital
Other hospitals in Asia also followed suit in the metaverse hype. Thumbay Hospitals, a United Arab Emirates-based healthcare firm, had announced its plans to create a virtual hospital on metaverse to talk with patients and improve patient experiences.
In a statement from Thumbay.com, the full-fledged virtual hospital will be built in a multi-phased project on a metaverse platform, which will give patients an immersive experience in healthcare. There will be a patient experience centre, a walkthrough of hospital and services, teleconsultation, multiple doctors consulting a case in a virtual clinic, and avatars in the local language and dress to talk to patients in the medical tourism department.
There will also be the “first AID and preventive health programs using AR/VR and AI programs to educate patients and suggest treatment plans.”
Thumbay Virtual Hospital will also provide health tips on inpatient hospital and room experience for elective surgeries, a surgery that can be done in advance.
Under phase one of the Thumbay patient experience, the application will be developed by visualising the Thumbay Medicity.
“The user will be able to create a base avatar. They could customise their avatar based on hair colour and skin tone, which will have two options each. The receptionist at the hospital would greet the users in their native language,” read the statement.
Commenting on the integration of metaverse in its business, Thumbay President Thumbay Moideen said: “We are very excited to take up these initiatives and be in line with the developments of the future and explore all opportunities to develop our core business in Education, Healthcare, Research and Wellness domains.”
Metaverse research in South Korea
A news report showed that a Medical Metaverse Research Society was rolled out through the joint sponsorship of the Seoul National University Metaverse Lab and the Seoul National University Hospital Innovative Medical Technology Research Center Smart ICT Lab.
This research society seeks to promote academically in the prevention, treatment, and management of medical illnesses and ailments through Metaverse innovations.
The research society will also back public and private partnerships and industry-academic cooperation and plan to establish a framework for medical metaverse experts via training projects and global academic exchanges.
SEA hospitals
Two Southeast Asian hospitals previously saw big opportunities in using virtual and augmented reality to enhance telemedicine services, with patients one day potentially tapping the metaverse for recovery. These hospitals, Malaysia-based IHH Healthcare and Indonesia’s Siloam International Hospitals began using telemedicine in 2020 when the severe respiratory disease crisis started. They also used technology to reach patients hit by stringent health protocols or those living in remote areas. These hospitals also started exploring AI and data analysis to improve patient treatment. Now, they think virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and the metaverse will expand into healthcare.
By Stella Ramette, Director, Healthcare Customer Relations & Sales, South East Asia for InterSystems.
With rising consumer demands, rapid advancements in technology and more complex care needs, healthcare organisations are under pressure to deliver digital-first, seamless and connected healthcare experiences.
Thankfully, innovation in digital health is flourishing in the Asia Pacific region. But what trends are shaping the future of healthcare delivery? And how can healthcare leaders ensure their organisations are equipped to take advantage of the emerging opportunities?
1. Rising data volumes create complexity Data has long been a powerful ally for healthcare organisations in APAC, helping us make better-informed clinical and business decisions. However, the rate of data creation has exploded.
As data volumes continue to rise, so does our difficulty managing it. In 2022, healthcare organisations are searching for ways to integrate and harmonise their data to make meaningful connections that lead to actionable insights.
One solution, according to Gartner, is an enterprise data fabric, a way to continuously identify and connect data from disparate applications to discover unique, business-relevant relationships between the available data points.
2. AI adoption in healthcare accelerates Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to make care better, faster and more accessible for all. However, significant concerns about patient safety and a lack of quality data have slowed the progress of AI initiatives in healthcare.
However, fuelled by technological advances and greater investment in infrastructure to support AI, we’re seeing an acceleration in the adoption and application of AI technology in healthcare.
McKinsey’s analysis of The State of AI in 2020 found that healthcare organisations were leading the way in AI investment, with 44% of healthcare organisations surveyed saying they have increased investment in AI in each major business function.1
With the healthcare sector catching up to other industries in AI maturity, data will be both a critical success factor as well as a barrier to the successful application of AI. What foundations do we need to get right before we are able to realise the full potential of AI technology? providing the information needed to improve decisions and outcomes across the healthcare continuum.
4. Telehealth moves to virtual care Telehealth isn’t merely a passing pandemic trend. It has become an important part of the way we deliver healthcare today. But in 2022, telehealth is becoming more than a mechanism to deliver care outside the hospital. We’re seeing a shift towards virtual care, a more holistic way of treating patients outside the hospital.
As we move beyond isolated video interactions and phone calls, the challenge is now how to seamlessly blend remote and in-person care. Finding ways to integrate telehealth into our digital systems and enable it to meet individual care needs whilst improving patient access and experience is one of the key challenges facing APAC healthcare leaders.
Stella Ramette, InterSystems
3. Interoperability becomes standardised According to a Sage Growth Partners report, more than half (51%) of healthcare executives say data integration and interoperability are the most significant barriers to achieving their strategic priorities related to data analytics.2
This is due to the amount of data being created and the number of sources that data is flowing from. Medical devices, patient records, hospital databases and data lakes all house crucial data within the healthcare system. Without a way to connect these siloed data sources, accessing real-time data remains an uphill battle.
Standards such as Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) and tools such as Application Programming Interfaces are closing this gap in the explosion of data and sources in the region, making data more accessible, computable and usable. These two approaches will make synthesising data from multiple sources more achievable, 5. The Internet of Medical Things Rapid innovation in medical technology has led to an increasing number of connected medical devices that are helping healthcare professionals generate, collect, analyse and transmit data. This connected ecosystem of data and devices – referred to as the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) – is revolutionising the way healthcare is delivered.
The IoMT has the potential to transform fragmented healthcare systems into a connected system of care powered by real-time patient data. This opportunity is not lost on health professionals in the Asia Pacific region who are rapidly adopting IoMT solutions. But as the number of devices grows, so does associated data. This data deluge can be overwhelming for healthcare providers to manage and could prevent us from unlocking the full potential of IoMT.
To understand more about these digital trends and how they are shaping healthcare industry, download the free InterSystems e-book “5 Trends Shaping the Future of Digital Health in 2022 | Asia Pacific” here:
1 https://www.mckinsey. com/business-functions/ mckinsey-analytics/ourinsights/global-survey-thestate-of-ai-in-2020
2 https://www. intersystems.com/sagedata-report/
Trends shaping Asia Pacific digital health
Asia Pacifi c’s digital healthcare landscape is evolving rapidly, driven by rising consumer demands, rapid technology advancements, and more complex healthcare needs.
Healthcare organisations are under pressure to deliver digital-fi rst, seamless, secure, and connected healthcare experiences to keep pace with digital evolution and deliver fi rst-class patient care.
There are fi ve major trends shaping the future of healthcare delivery in Asia Pacifi c that healthcare providers need to be aware of to ensure their organisations are equipped to take advantage of the emerging opportunities.
Download the full complimentary eBook: www.InterSystems.com/sg/HealthTrendsAPAC
