Background: Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have increasingly appeared in the medical literature in the past decade, with AR recently being studied for its potential role in remote health care delivery and communication. Recent literature describes AR's implementation in real-time telemedicine contexts across multiple specialties and settings, with remote emergency services in particular using AR to enhance disaster support and simulation education. Despite the introduction of AR in the medical literature and its potential to shape the future of remote medical services, studies have yet to investigate the perspectives of telemedicine providers regarding this novel technology.
Objective: This study aimed to understand the applications and challenges of AR in telemedicine anticipated by emergency medicine providers with a range of experiences in using telemedicine and AR or VR technology.
Methods: Across 10 academic medical institutions, 21 emergency medicine providers with variable exposures to telemedicine and AR or VR technology were recruited for semistructured interviews via snowball sampling. The interview questions focused on various potential uses of AR, anticipated obstacles that prevent its implementation in the telemedicine area, and how providers and patients might respond to its introduction. We included video demonstrations of a prototype using AR during the interviews to elicit more informed and complete insights regarding AR's potential in remote health care. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed via thematic coding.
Results: Our study identified 2 major areas of use for AR in telemedicine. First, AR is perceived to facilitate information gathering by enhancing observational tasks such as visual examination and granting simultaneous access to data and remote experts. Second, AR is anticipated to supplement distance learning of both minor and major procedures and nonprocedural skills such as cue recognition and empathy for patients and trainees. AR may also supplement long-distance education programs and thereby support less specialized medical facilities. However, the addition of AR may exacerbate the preexisting financial, structural, and literacy barriers to telemedicine. Providers seek value demonstrated by extensive research on the clinical outcome, satisfaction, and financial benefits of AR. They also seek institutional support and early training before adopting novel tools such as AR. Although an overall mixed reception is anticipated, consumer adoption and awareness are key components in AR's adoption.
Conclusions: AR has the potential to enhance the ability to gather observational and medical information, which would serve a diverse set of applications in remote health care delivery and education. However, AR faces obstacles similar to those faced by the current telemedicine technology, such as lack of access, infrastructure, and familiarity. This paper discusses the potential areas of investigation that would inform future studies and approaches to implementing AR in telemedicine.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/45211 | DOI Listing |
Indian J Med Ethics
January 2025
Senior Resident, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, AIIMS Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh 174037, INDIA.
Telemedicine technology plays a crucial role in addressing healthcare challenges, particularly in countries like India, by mitigating physician shortages, reducing patient burden and costs, and aiding in disease prevention. The term telemedicine, meaning "healing at a distance," was coined in 1970 [1]. It encompasses the use of electronic, communication, and information technologies to deliver healthcare services remotely.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Genet Metab Rep
March 2025
Hayward Genetics Center, Dept of Pediatrics, Tulane University Medical School, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Objective: To provide insights and strategies for pegvaliase management in challenging cases with phenylketonuria (PKU) based on the first 5 years of experience with pegvaliase in real-world clinical practice.
Methods: Twelve PKU experts gathered during a one-day, in-person meeting to discuss clinical cases illustrating important lessons from their experiences treating patients with pegvaliase in real-world clinical practice. Challenges with pegvaliase experienced prior to and during treatment and corresponding strategies to overcome them were discussed.
Am J Prev Cardiol
March 2025
Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Background: Digital health technologies have been proposed as a potential solution to improving maternal cardiovascular (CV) health in the postpartum (PP) period. In this context we performed a systematic scoping review of digital health interventions designed to improve PP CV health.
Methods: We conducted a systematic review of PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library.
Lancet Reg Health Eur
March 2025
Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Digital technologies can help support the health of migrants and refugees and facilitate research on their health issues. However, ethical concerns include security and confidentiality of information; informed consent; how to engage migrants in designing, implementing and researching digital tools; inequitable access to mobile devices and the internet; and access to health services for early intervention and follow-up. Digital technical solutions do not necessarily overcome problems that are political, social, or economic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Health Serv Res
January 2025
Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Background: This mixed methods study identified needed refinements to a telehealth-delivered cultural and linguistic adaptation of Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Chinese patients with advanced cancer (MCP-Ch) to enhance acceptability, comprehensibility, and implementation of the intervention in usual care settings, guided by the Ecological Validity Model (EVM) and the Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model (PRISM).
Methods: Fifteen purposively sampled mental health professionals who work with Chinese cancer patients completed surveys providing Likert-scale ratings on acceptability and comprehensibility of MCP-Ch content (guided by the EVM) and pre-implementation factors (guided by PRISM), followed by semi-structured interviews. Survey data were descriptively summarized and linked to qualitative interview data.
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