A patient walks into a hospital room, sits down, and begins talking to a doctor, except in this case the doctor is a hologram.
It may sound like science fiction, but for some patients at Crescent Regional Hospital in Lancaster, Texas, this is reality.
In May, the hospital group began offering patients the ability to see their doctor remotely as a hologram, through a partnership with Holoconnects, a digital technology company based in the Netherlands.
Each Holobox (the company’s name for the 200-pound, 2.13-meter-tall device that displays a highly realistic 3D live video of a person on a screen) costs $42,000, with an additional annual service fee of $1,900.
The high-quality image gives the patient the feeling that there is a doctor in the box, when in reality the doctor is sitting miles away, looking into cameras and displays showing the patient.
The system allows the patient and physician to conduct a real-time telehealth visit that feels more like an in-person conversation. For now, the service is primarily used for pre- and post-operative visits.
Crescent Regional management, which plans to expand the service to traditional appointments, believes it will improve the remote experience for patients.
“The physicians can have a very different impact on the patient,” said Raji Kumar, managing partner and chief executive of Crescent Regional. “The patients feel like the physician is there.”
But experts are skeptical about whether a hologram visit is significantly better than 2D telehealth options like Zoom or FaceTime.
In medicine, technological developments are judged by their ability to improve access to care, reduce its cost or improve its quality, said Dr. Eric Bressman, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I don’t know of any data to support the idea that this would improve the quality of the visit over and above a regular telemedicine visit,” said Dr. Bressman, who has expertise in digital medicine.
Ms Kumar said one of the ways a hologram improves the telehealth experience is its large screen and advanced camera that allows a doctor to see the patient’s entire body, which is useful for assessing characteristics such as gait or range of motion.
According to Dr. Chad Ellimoottil, medical director of virtual care for the University of Michigan Health System, the camera could be especially useful in a physical therapy setting.
According to Steve Sterling, president of Holoconnects’ North American division, some of the hologram’s benefits are less tangible, but they still significantly improve the patient experience.
“We’re not going to affect patient outcomes,” Mr. Sterling said. “But what we are already affecting is a sense of engagement between physicians and patients.”
While Mr. Sterling said Crescent Regional is the first hospital application for the Holobox, catering services are increasingly using the technology.
Twelve hotels have a Holobox and there are plans to install the system in a further 18 locations, Mr Sterling said.
Dr. Ellimoottil believes this technology is better suited to a hospitality environment than a medical environment. Telehealth allows patients to meet with a doctor from home, but patients using the Holobox system still have to travel to an office.
In addition to concerns about a lack of improvement in the quality and accessibility of care, price is also a problem.
For now, $42,000 plus an annual fee of $1,900 is not a cost-saving service. But Ms. Kumar said she is OK with that.
“It’s not about generating revenue,” she says. “It’s more about patient quality, involvement and providing a better service to the patient. This gives them more comfort.”
