A patient walks into a room, sits down and begins talking to a doctor, who in this case is a hologram.
It may sound like science fiction, but it's reality for some patients at Crescent Regional Hospital in Lancaster, Texas.
In May, the hospital group launched a service that allows patients to receive remote doctor consultations via holograms through a partnership with HoloConnect, a Netherlands-based digital technology company.
The Holoboxes — 440-pound, 7-foot-tall machines that display highly realistic live 3-D video of people on a screen — cost $42,000 each, plus an annual service fee of $1,900.
High-quality images make the patient feel as though the doctor is sitting in a box, when in reality the doctor is miles away, peering into a camera or display showing the patient.
The system allows patients and doctors to receive remote medical care in real time, with the feeling that it is almost like a face-to-face conversation. Currently, the service is mainly used for pre- and post-operative consultations.
Crescent Regional officials have plans to expand the service into traditional office visits, believing it will improve patients' remote care experience.
“Physicians can have a totally different impact on patients,” says Raj Kumar, managing partner and CEO of Crescent Regional. “Patients feel like they're right there with the doctor.”
But experts are skeptical that holographic consultations are significantly better than 2D telemedicine options like Zoom and FaceTime.
In health care, technological advances are measured by their ability to improve access to care, reduce health care costs and improve the quality of care, said Dr. Eric Bressman, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
“I'm not aware of any data that supports the idea that it's going to be a better quality visit than a typical telehealth visit,” said Dr. Bressman, a digital health expert.
Kumar said one way holograms could improve the remote medical experience is with larger screens and powerful cameras that allow doctors to see the patient's entire body, which can help determine characteristics such as gait and range of motion.
Dr. Chad Elimottil, medical director of virtual care at the University of Michigan Health System, said the cameras could be especially useful in physical therapy settings.
Steve Sterling, HoloConnect's North American managing director, said that while some of the benefits of holograms may not be visible, they still significantly improve the patient experience.
“We're not going to affect patient outcomes,” Sterling said, “but what we're already affecting is the sense of engagement between physicians and patients.”
Sterling said Crescent Regional is Holobox's first hospital application, but the technology is more commonly used in hospitality services.
Sterling said 12 hotels have installed the HoloBoxes, with plans to install the systems in 18 more locations.
Dr. Elimottil believes the technology is better suited to hospitality rather than medical settings: whereas telemedicine allows patients to see their doctor from home, patients using the Holobox system still have to travel to a clinic.
In addition to concerns about insufficient improvements in quality and access to care, affordability is also an issue.
For now, $42,000 plus $1,900 in annual fees doesn't exactly sound like a cost-saving offer, but Kumar said he's OK with that.
“This isn't about generating revenue,” she said, “It's about patient quality, engagement and providing better service to patients. Making them feel more comfortable.”