Hospices have increasingly explored different ways to use virtual reality (VR) technology to improve patient and family satisfaction.

Virtual reality experiences are an opportunity for hospices to learn more about what is most important to a patient, said Jennifer Fenuccio, volunteer coordinator at Brookhaven Hospice. The hospice serves patients in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Innovations in VR technology allow patients to engage in a variety of activities or visit new and familiar locations. Through VR experiences, hospices can better understand a patient’s values, wishes and goals of care, as well as what brings them feelings of peace, joy or sadness, according to Fenuccio.

“Using virtual reality over the last few years has been a game changer [in] providing a meaningful and purposeful activity,” Fenuccio told Hospice News in an email. “The impacts of using VR with a [patient] and the family have been huge. It has been an immersive and entertaining experience for [patients] and families. It’s meaningful, realistic and engaging for people of all ages.”

VR’s growing impacts

Brookhaven Hospice’s range of VR experiences has spanned individual and group activities including trivia games, sporting events and trips to different countries and cultural attractions, among others. Patients are able to visit a childhood home or neighborhood, or virtually engage in activities like skiing or horseback riding, with families and friends able to view their experiences through a large TV screen, Fenuccio explained.

Feedback on the VR programs has been increasingly positive, according to Fenuccio. Some families have stated that the VR experiences have helped create stronger bonds between patients and caregivers, she explained.

Brookhaven Hospice plans to grow VR utilization in its end-of-life care model, Fenuccio indicated. The hospice partners with tech company Rendever to offer VR experiences to patients and their families in community- and facility-based settings.

Rendever’s virtual reality program is designed to address the specific needs of isolated senior populations. The company provides services to patients in the home and at physical therapy clinics, senior living facilities and in veteran affairs (VA) programs, among other health care settings.

A “significant shift” has occurred related to how virtual reality has been perceived and used within health care in recent years, particularly in hospice care, said Rendever CEO Kyle Rand. VR technology emerged with a “healthy degree of skepticism” as far as utilization in end-of-life care, Rand stated. However, in recent years, growing data and research analyses of VR utilization in health care have found this technology to help improve quality of life, particularly among serious and terminally ill individuals.

Case in point, recent research found that virtual reality therapies were associated with improved physical and emotional states in cancer patients. Other studies have pointed to the benefits of VR when it comes to alleviating patients’ pain and symptoms while reducing the use of high-cost health care treatments and medications.

For families, VR experiences can allow for a more personal and meaningful form of connection, and potentially ease caregiver burden by creating opportunities for respite, Rand indicated. For hospices, the benefits are twofold with the potential to improve quality while also boosting workforce skills and retention, he stated.

Hospices that offer VR experiences need to understand the focus and intention of these diverse and rapidly evolving technologies, Rand stated. For some hospices, VR technology has been a staff training tool or has helped provide education for family caregivers. Emerging technologies are being used to train caregivers by simulating the daily experiences of individuals with conditions such as dementia. For other hospices, VR has been an avenue to offer more patient-centered care.

The key is having a system in place to track not just VR investments, but also the impact of these technologies on patient care and operations, according to Rand.

“Investing in VR and other technologies requires careful and strategic consideration,” Rand told Hospice News in an email. “The first and most vital step is moving past ‘innovation for innovation’s sake’ and focusing on the core area you’re trying to improve. The most significant return on investment in VR technology is the measurable impact on the patient’s quality of life and emotional well-being. Hospice operators should assess the impact on the human element … knowing that the conversation aspect built on top of the experience is often more important than the experience itself.”

Compassus is among the hospice providers to recently begin using Rendever’s VR platform. Other organizations include Brookhaven Hospice, Affinity Health Management, Crescent Hospice, Continuum Hospice and Aegis Hospice.

A main goal of offering VR experiences is to improve goal-concordant care delivery, according to Mashell Belzer, area executive of clinical operations at Compassus.

“At Compassus, we believe every moment matters with those we’re caring for. Partnering with Rendever allows us to offer our residents an innovative way to experience joy, connection, and meaning in their final days,” Belzer said in a press release shared with Hospice News. “Rendever’s VR experiences are helping us grant end-of-life wishes and give our residents the opportunity to experience life to its fullest.”