How The Metaverse Could (Or Could Not) Transform Healthcare

If you’ve browsed the internet in the last couple of months, the term ‘metaverse’ is likely to have been thrown at you at least once. Facebook rebranded itself after the concept and other companies are adopting the metaverse with their own spin; betting heavily that it will be the next iteration of the internet where we will work and play alike.?

As healthcare increasingly incorporates an online segment in the digital health era, one cannot help but wonder how - or even if - this touted future of the internet will influence this sphere. As such, we decided to step into the metaverse and contemplate how it can factor in healthcare.

What is the metaverse?

This is a tricky question as there is not a general consensus on the definition of metaverse. Microsoft calls it “a persistent digital world that is inhabited by digital twins of people, places and things”; while Mark Zuckerberg says that in the metaverse, “you’ll be able to do almost anything you can imagine”.

The term ‘metaverse’ itself isn’t totally new. It was first coined by author Neal Stephenson in his classic sci-fi book Snow Crash published in 1992. In it, the Metaverse represents a virtual reality (VR)-based successor to the internet which is populated by users’ virtual avatars. There have been other depictions of such an internet successor such as the OASIS in Ready Player One; but they are similar in that they represent a new, more interactive way for people to interact online in a thriving, VR-enabled virtual world with its own economy and communities.

Some would argue that metaverses have been around for decades if one is to go by the virtual world concept. Second Life, launched in 2003, is an example; while others like Roblox and Fortnite are often considered as “proto-metaverses”. But the main idea that Big Tech is pushing forward is extending activities that we are already performing in real life to the digital one more seamlessly, where franchises from Marvel to The Lord of the Rings intermingle?and where people smoothly go to work and entertain themselves.

What the metaverse would look like in a healthcare setting

Traditional access to the metaverse has been depicted through a VR headset; and this is exactly what Meta envisions with its rebranded Meta Quest arm, which develops VR hardware and software. Going by VR alone, the approach holds tremendous potential in healthcare. There is a growing number of studies that already point to VR as being a beneficial, drug-free alternative for therapeutic pathways, whether it’s in reducing post-surgical pain, making childbirth less painful or treating phobias.?

However, this is different from the concept of the metaverse. In the latter, instead of using a VR headset only for therapy, one would meet their therapist through the device as a digital avatar; have their consultation held in a virtual office; and can even head to a virtual pharmacy to order their prescription medicine (or VR app). Following that, they can meet up with fellow patient communities to share, in their avatar form, their treatment progress; and discuss new developments pertinent to their ailments.

This offers a case to enhance the user experience as compared to online patient forums or current telemedical visits which happen through a flat screen. As such visits have become commonplace, equipping them with a better interface could entice healthcare providers to extend their services to the metaverse.?

Moreover, with the interconnectedness that seems to be integral to this “new internet”, a patient’s digital avatar will carry their digital medical data collected from direct-to-consumer services and wearables - essentially any digital data - and can more easily share them to their physician in the healthcare metaverse.

Is providing healthcare in the metaverse feasible?

As enticing as the prospect of extending healthcare to the metaverse sounds, we must consider its feasibility. The sheer volume of personal health data that will be involved represents a security and privacy concern. One technology that has been touted to address such concerns is blockchain.?

Companies like BurstIQ are already leveraging this technology to assist healthcare institutions in addressing healthcare themes such as risk assessment, patient engagement and secure handling of personal health data. Having a transparent approach to handling such sensitive information can help build trust for patients to head to the metaverse for medical purposes.

However, implementing this approach will represent a challenge of its own. Current metaverse contenders like Fortnight and Roblox aren’t interoperable, neither is Meta's Horizon Worlds with Microsoft’s Mesh. One cannot bring content obtained, bought or created in Roblox to Horizon Worlds and vice versa; and this goes against the concept of the metaverse in the first place.?

Given how healthcare and electronic health systems have a notorious legacy of interoperability issues, thinking that the metaverse will take those woes away might be a pipedream. Already we are seeing separate visions and differing versions of the metaverse from Big Tech that don’t talk with each other, leading us to think in terms of ‘metaverses’ instead of a single interoperable metaverse. These logistics issues cannot be taken lightly, especially when it comes to healthcare.

On top of that comes practical issues with access to and handling VR headsets that pose as enablers of the metaverse. At $300, the Meta Quest 2 is arguably the most affordable way to get quality VR content. But even that price, significantly lower than other competitors’ headsets, might be a barrier to access the metaverse. Even those who adopt such a device might encounter other hurdles with the setting up the device; or simply having a 500g load strapped to one’s forehead might not be totally comfortable for extended periods of time.

It's so much easier to communicate with people through phones and/or social media sites that envisioning all this happening in the metaverse seems like a far-fetched sci-fi idea.

When life imitates art…

It should not be forgotten that metaverse concepts from sources like Snow Crash and Ready Player One, which have clearly inspired Big tech, are set in a dystopian backdrop. And these might be drawing eerie parallels in the real-life metaverses. There have already been reports of sexual harrasments in Meta’s Horizon Worlds app and other online virtual worlds. If tech companies cannot ensure a safe place in the metaverse at such an early stage, it raises questions as to how they will ensure it when (or if) more people engage with the platform. This does not paint a very promising picture of the internet’s so-called successor.

However, the recent push for the metaverse felt nothing like an organic move. The Facebook Company’s rebranding to Meta might very well have been a diversion tactic following years of bad press. And by betting on and overhyping something as vague as the metaverse and keeping it so makes it impossible to fail.

It's important to know the distinction between the metaverse and the VR experience as we highlighted here. A lot of evidence-based studies have been proving the use of VR for medical purposes. But for the same to happen for the metaverse too, we are so far away; and it might not even be worth the effort now.