A Solution for Telemedicine-Based VR Exposure Therapy
In response to the evolving landscape of healthcare, Doxy.me Inc., a global leader in telemedicine solutions since 2014, sought to revolutionize how healthcare professionals connect with their patients. In partnership with Lucid Reality Labs, funding support from the National Institute of Mental Health, and research collaborators at the University of South Florida, Doxy.me created a cutting-edge VR mental healthcare suite that pioneers realistic, remote interactions and empowers providers with enhanced treatment capabilities to bring the benefits of XR technologies to people around the world. The result is a secure, remote, synchronous VR clinic that is currently undergoing a trial with real-world patients.
The VR solution is aimed to enhance the largest telehealth platform in the world, Doxy.me, and the more than 1 million healthcare providers who use its solutions.
Doxy.me VR has been developed under the supervision of clinical researchers and an advisory panel of mental health experts to seamlessly incorporate into providers’ workflows and practices. It brings proven treatment techniques to patients around the world for a range of conditions such as phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and panic disorder evidence-based interactive exercises.
Follow the patient and the therapist’s path when using the Doxy.me VR solution.
Immersive Environment
When a patient wants to meet with their therapist in VR, the patient starts the Doxy.me VR app and enters their therapist’s lobby–a bright, cozy, friendly therapy room where every detail was created and revised with the feedback of experts in the fields of design, research, and clinical mental health care. The purpose was to create an atmosphere of peace and relaxation, where trust can be built and effective therapy sessions will be conducted.
From the soft lighting to the shape and position of the furniture, and even to the box of tissues next to the client–every detail was decided with the input of patients and providers to reproduce the best practices of in-person care for this VR therapy space.
The room is spacious, bright, and airy so patients can “breathe freely” and feel at ease. A large window offers views of a beautiful natural landscape outside, with a plethora of greenery inside the room, to help visitors relax and reflect during sessions.
While the environment creates a real-life feeling of meeting in the therapy room, the experience was designed with a semi-realistic aesthetic on purpose. It aims to provide proven therapeutic techniques in a way that feels less stressful than a typical mental health care visit. Behind the scenes, this design decision also makes the VR experience fully customizable and can be modified to the needs of any therapist or patient when required.
Let’s see how it’s done!
For small animal phobias, clinicians can choose from a wide range of stimuli:
🦮 14 breeds of dogs
🕷️ 6 kinds of spiders
🐍 8 kinds of snakes
Accessibility & Control
Tech Features
At the heart of this innovative solution lies the powerful and proven techniques of VR exposure therapy. Allowing therapists to track the behavior and movement of their patients, hear each other’s voices in 3D audio, and speak with each other realistically with lipsynch technology ensures that the interaction feels as close to an in-person meeting as possible. In the future, advanced features like eye and face tracking can add even deeper presence for therapists and their patients.
Core Features:
- Synchronous and Personalized VR Session: Establishing a virtual environment where patients and providers can interact in real-time, fostering a strong sense of presence and connection.
- Spatial Object Interaction for Specialized Treatments: Empowering providers and their patients to utilize virtual objects for tailored treatment strategies, enhancing engagement and effectiveness.
- Emphasis on Simplicity and Security: Prioritizing user-friendly experiences and maintaining the highest standards of data security and privacy.
Analysis
Doxy.me VR can be instrumental in defining vital trends and insights. Demand for therapy is at unprecedented levels, especially for phobias and anxiety disorders in the fallout of COVID-19. The lessons learned from this federally-funded research will provide invaluable discoveries into what works for patients in telehealth-based VR therapy, what doesn’t work, the most used and rejected experiences, customizations needed by therapists, and feedback from users to refine and scale VR-based solutions for the future of telehealth.
Data Security
Robust, enterprise-grade security is ensured by compliance with global security standards, including GDPR, PHIPA/PIPEDA, and HITECH. With Doxy.me VR, patient and provider experiences are kept anonymous and secure, with no data logging, and are protected following international best practices.
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The Outcome
In response to the evolving healthcare landscape, XR provides revolutionary opportunities for healthcare professionals to connect with their patients for efficient, secure, and comforting care. The result is a cutting-edge, telehealth-based VR solution to facilitate the vital practice of exposure therapy for phobias and related anxiety disorders. Researchers are currently conducting a feasibility trial with Doxy.me VR to evaluate how it works for real-world phobia patients. Doxy.me VR pioneers a new form of immersive, realistic telehealth that is ready for further research and development of innovative care and evidence-based therapies.
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