A patient walks into a hospital room, sits down, and starts talking to a doctor. Only in this case the doctor is a hologram.
It may seem like science fiction, but it’s reality for some patients at Crescent Regional Hospital in Lancaster, Texas.
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 its 200-kilogram, 2-meter-tall device that displays a highly realistic, three-dimensional video of a person on a screen — costs $42,000, with an additional $1,900 annual service fee.
The high-quality image gives the patient the feeling that there is a doctor sitting inside the box, when in reality the doctor is miles away looking at the cameras and screens showing the patient.
The system allows the patient and doctor to have a real-time telehealth visit that is more like an in-person conversation. For now, the service is primarily used for pre- and post-operative visits.
Crescent Regional executives, who plan to expand the service to traditional appointments, believe it improves the remote experience for the patient.
“Physicians can have a very different impact on the patient,” said Raji Kumar, managing partner and CEO of Crescent Regional. “Patients feel like the doctor is there.”
But experts are skeptical about whether a holographic visit is significantly better than 2D telehealth options like Zoom or FaceTime.
In medicine, technological advances are judged by their ability to improve access to care, lower its cost or improve its quality, said Dr. Eric Bressman, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I’m not aware of any data to support the idea that this would improve the quality of the visit beyond a typical telemedicine visit,” said Dr. Bressman, who has expertise in digital medicine.
Ms. Kumar said one way a hologram enhances the telehealth experience is the large screen and sophisticated camera that allow the doctor to see the patient’s full body, which is useful for assessing characteristics such as gait or range of motion.
The camera could be especially useful in a physical therapy setting, said Dr. Chad Ellimoottil, medical director of virtual care at the University of Michigan Health System.
Some of the hologram’s benefits are less tangible but still significantly improve the patient experience, said Steve Sterling, CEO of Holoconnects’ North American division.
“We are not going to affect patient outcomes,” Sterling said. “But what we are already achieving is a sense of commitment between doctors and patients.”
While Sterling said Crescent Regional is the first hospital application for Holobox, hospitality services are more commonly using the technology.
Twelve hotels have a Holobox and there are plans to install the system in 18 more locations, Sterling said.
Dr. Ellimoottil believes this technology is better suited to a hospital setting than a medical one. Telehealth allows patients to meet with a doctor from home, but patients using the Holobox system would still have to travel to an office.
In addition to concerns about a lack of improvements in the quality and accessibility of care, price is also an issue.
For now, $42,000 plus a $1,900 annual fee is not a cost-saving service. But Ms. Kumar said she’s fine with that.
“It’s not about revenue generation,” he said. “It’s more about patient quality, engagement and providing better patient service. Giving them more convenience.”
