Whether or not by
design, Google Glass is revolutionizing the healthcare world. As in fields like
higher education, third-party application developers and users are embracing
Glass to deliver highly empowering, meaningful Glassware with amazing results. Mark
Taglietti, head of ICT delivery services and vendor management at London
University College Hospitals says, "Google Glass represents a step change
in technical innovation, wearable technology, and the convergence of personal
devices in the workplace. The healthcare applications of Glass are
wide-ranging, insightful and impactful, from enabling hands-free real-time
access to clinical and patient information, to the transmission of point of
view audio and video for surgical research and educational purposes. Glass
marks the beginning of a truly remarkable journey for technical innovation
within healthcare, enabling providers to improve the delivery of care, as well
as overall quality and patient experience."
Here and in the
accompanying slideshare are fifteen areas in which Google Glass is dramatically
changing healthcare.
Virtual Dictation
Physicians typically
spend hours each day on patient documentation and electronic health records
(EHRs). Augmedix is a Glass application that provides a better way for doctors
to enter and access important patient information in real-time without being
tethered to a computer. Dignity Health uses Augmedix software and Glass to
streamline the interaction between physicians and patients. Doctors can
maintain patient eye contact while their conversations are securely recorded
along with visual information. The software also makes it easy for doctors to
access patient data and conduct searches using simple verbal requests.
Telemedicine
The nature of
telemedicine is to connect doctors to patients on-demand. The range of
telemedicine scenarios is vast. Glass can provide synchronous video
conversations with physicians at remote locations. Remotely-conducted
procedures can be recorded and embedded in patient records for future reference.
With Glass, physicians at rural hospitals can consult with specialists located
anywhere in the world in real-time to provide world-class service to their
patients. Telemedicine also plays a major role in streamlining care to hospice
patients. Care providers can communicate with physicians remotely and
proactively monitor patients whose EHRs can be transmitted in real-time. The
seemingly high $1,500 price of Google Glass is significantly less than other
types of hospital videoconferencing, which can run upwards of $40,000.
Resident Training
The Stanford University
Medical Center Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery uses Google Glass in its
resident training program. Surgeons at the medical center use glassware from
CrowdOptics to train residents on surgical procedures. Fluid communication
between surgeons and residents can be critical for improving the procedures.
With the CrowdOptics software, surgeons can watch the progress of residents and
provide visual feedback on their technique. This is truly like viewing a day in
the life from the clinician's perspective.
Augmented Reality
Philips Healthcare uses
Google Glass to overlay information directly into the clinician's field of
view. The Philips IntelliVue solution allows doctors to monitor patients' vital
signs during surgical procedures without ever having to take their eyes off the
patient. Augmented reality gives doctors expedited access to the information
they need in settings where they need it most. Live streaming of procedures can
also be used with augmented reality applications for teaching.
EMS Communications
Google Glass can
provide communications with a direct field of view for EMS ambulance staff and
emergency department specialists performing triage and assessing acute strokes,
heart attacks, and trauma in the field. MedEx Ambulance Service has partnered
with Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago on a Google Glass
implementation for their ambulance fleet. The use of Glass allows EMTs and
paramedics to stream images and video from the field to awaiting emergency room
physicians who can view the trauma before arrival. Advice, diagnosis and
treatment options can be given to the paramedic team from doctors at the
hospital who can provide advice, diagnosis and treatment options back to the
EMTs. This is especially helpful for more difficult and less frequently-handled
procedures.
Surgical Training
Glass can provide a you
are there experience to walk students through surgical procedures. Dr. Paul
Szotek, MD, of Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital has used Glass to
live-stream hernia repair and abdominal wall reconstruction surgery to an
audience of 600 physicians in Las Vegas during the Americans Hernia Society's
annual conference. In his live stream, Dr. Szotek removed a rare type of
midsection tumor from the patient as well. He was able to summon the patient's
MRI and x-ray scans, hands-free, in the midst of the procedure. In the UK, my
company, Extreme Networks, is helping one of the largest healthcare trusts use
Glass to record surgeries for educational purposes.
Improved Rounds
Beth Israel Deaconess
Medical Center has developed custom Glassware that lets doctors scan a QR code
on the wall of each room in the emergency department to instantly call up
information about the patient. While the clinician examines the patient and
performs procedures, Glass displays alerts, vital signs, lab results, and other
data.
Improving The Patient
Experience
Patient satisfaction as
reported by patient surveys is now vital for all hospitals. With Google Glass,
patients can get world-class care from the comfort of their homes. Specialists
can be summoned remotely by doctors anywhere in the world to offer the best
patient experience possible. These five hospitals across the country are pioneering
the use of Google Glass in healthcare. The use of Google Glass will provide
better-coordinated care and better outcomes with fewer office visits; all while
reducing costs.
Procedure Analysis
That which is not
measured cannot be improved. With hands-free, augmented point-of-view features,
Google Glass enables clinicians to review emergency triage and operating
procedures for training and self-assessment. This helps improve accuracy for
future procedures as well as reduces the likelihood of mistakes. Glass-based
recordings can also provide teaching tools for resident students and a means of
compiling best practices for procedures.
Patient Communications
Communication between
medical staff and patients is critical. For nurses, patient alarms and
communications via Glass will allow a more natural workflow than is provided
today with traditional wireless phones and pagers. Clinicians and patients can
have uninterrupted communications during office visits. Follow-ups can consist
of more efficient remote videoconferencing, rather than requiring onsite
visits.
Improved Visibility
In the tight space of a
surgical procedure, streaming perspectives via Glass from multiple angles will
improve real-time visibility and provide recorded videos for future use.
Doctors can broadcast their surgery in real-time to students located remotely
in a campus conference room. This gives students much better visibility into
the procedure, rather trying to view it from around a crowded operating table.
Telemedicine For Acute
Patients
The cloud-based
telemedicine platform Twiage is designed to accelerate care to heart attack and
stroke patients. By using Glass, Twiage provides hospitals with a complete
picture of incoming patients to help in managing resources like operating rooms
and hospital beds. The innovative pilot project GRACE by Cronos Group shows how
Glass can be used to assess acute patients and relay information to hospital ER
teams. Quick access by specialists to the patient is critical in stroke cases.
Glass can provide EMS teams with real-time neurological evaluations of stroke
patients to improve decision-making and expand the therapeutic window for
tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), an injection for patients suffering from a
stroke due to blood clot. CrowdOptic and medical transportation provider
ProTransport-1 are making this rapid access time and assessment of acute
patients a reality with Google Glass.
Patient Care
Instruction
Every patient is unique
and seeks medical insight on widely different issues. Clinicians with Glass can
improve medical records by logging what has been said to the patients and
families during consultations. These recorded patient care instructions can
eliminate any chance of the patient forgetting instruction or recalling it
incorrectly. There will be no paper trail to lose sight of. California-based
Kareo has created an app that offers Google Glass for patient care instruction.
Faster Access to
Information
Hands-free access to
patient records will allow clinicians to look up vital information without
taking their attention away from the patient. Information from patients and
doctors can be fed into patient records through Glass. Instead of loading EMRs
on a tablet or laptop, the doctor can simply start a conversation with the
patient, summon the EMR from Glass, and continue without missing a beat. Faster
access to this information means more valuable time with the patient.
Compliance
Google Glass can insure
that the proper processes are followed and that communications are conducted in
accordance with hospital policies and government regulations. HIPAA-compliant
application developers like Pristine and CrowdOptics are making sure that
streaming audio and video across the hospital network through Glass is in
accordance with all regulations.
These stories and use
cases of Google Glass adoption paint an amazing picture of how the technology
is revolutionizing healthcare. Glass provides an open canvas for application
developers to shape the future healthcare landscape, and Google Glass is but
one of the emerging wearables transforming healthcare.
This post was
co-authored by Bob Zemke, Healthcare Solutions Manager, Extreme Networks.
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