Enhancing the Patient Experience for Individuals Undergoing Endoscopic Procedures Using Virtual Reality.

The results of medical procedures can often be difficult to translate into comprehensible and engaging information for patients. This randomized controlled trial evaluated the satisfaction and perceived value of a technology, called HealthVoyager, which creates a personalized virtual reality (VR) experience of a patient's endoscopy or colonoscopy findings in comparison to the standard practice (i.e., reviewing printed reports). The platform allows gastroenterologists to create a customized VR patient report to help translate medical knowledge and procedural information to the patient. Forty-one patients (17 HealthVoyager [test]; 24 standard practice [control]) completed a self-report survey assessing their experience for receiving medical information. Results demonstrated that patients were significantly more satisfied in learning about their gastrointestinal condition and procedural results using HealthVoyager rather than with the standard of care. These results have implications for improving the knowledge translation of medical findings between healthcare providers and patients in various disease states and patient populations.