How Dynamics 365 Mixed Reality on HoloLens 2 is accelerating ROI for the healthcare industry
Healthcare providers around the world are accelerating their digital journey and embracing secure solutions that empower health team collaboration and boost clinician productivity. Embracing mixed reality—a set of technologies that superimposes digital data and images in the physical world—brings new opportunities for healthcare providers to work together more effectively, optimize operations, and accelerate learning all while improving patient care.
With HoloLens 2 and mixed reality, health professionals can connect with remote experts, and call up patient data and go beyond x-rays to consult Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images in 3D at the point of care. Microsoft’s comprehensive ecosystem of mixed reality solutions, including Microsoft HoloLens 2, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Guides, empower teams to cooperate more effectively and reduce time-to-care.
The benefits of adopting mixed reality in healthcare are significant. According to the commissioned Total Economic Impact of Mixed Reality Using Microsoft HoloLens 2 (“HoloLens 2 TEI study”), Forrester found that healthcare organizations experienced the following benefits:
- Improved efficiency to complete ward rounds by 30 percent at an average savings of $41 per hour.
- Reduced training time by 30 percent, at an average savings of $63 per labor hour.
- Reduced average annual PPE costs by 75 percent, saving $954 per employee.
Forrester also estimates an ROI of 177 percent and a net present value of $7.6 million over three years with a payback of 13 months with HoloLens 2 and mixed reality.
Adapt to the speed of change and improve clinical operations
Dynamics 365 mixed reality on HoloLens 2 is enabling healthcare providers to train medical staff more effectively and efficiently with holographic step-by-step guidance. Dynamics 365 Guides on HoloLens 2 enables medical institutions to provide continuous learning and widespread knowledge sharing while removing the need for subject matter experts to be physically present. Simply use your PC and the HoloLens app to author instructions and easily place 2D and 3D content in the real-world environment, showing users how and where to complete tasks.
Dynamics 365 Guides on HoloLens 2 empowers doctors, nurses, and technicians to train and to practice using hands-on, simulated learning—ensuring the entire organization keeps pace with the technological advances in science and technology. According to the HoloLens 2 TEI study, Healthcare providers reduced 80 hours of training time by 30 percent, at an average savings of $63 per labor hour.
When the pandemic hit, like many hospitals, Sheba Medical Center, a comprehensive hospital in the Middle East, sought solutions that would allow it to scale its workforce and expedite task shifting. With Dynamics 365 Guides on HoloLens 2, Sheba Medical Center deployed a self-serve training solution that supported staff to learn to operate physical ventilators quickly and easily. With holographic instructions overlaid in their physical environment, hospital staff were able to walk through a guided training simulation proficiently and successfully without requiring a supervisor. As a result, Sheba Medical Center was able to expedite task shifting across medical staff and meet staffing demands, enabling over 60 members of its staff to learn how to operate new devices in just 20 minutes.
“One of the key advantages of the technology is that it works on several layers of the brain – you hear it talk, see the presentation in front of you, and also physically touch the ventilator. The more senses involved simultaneously, the better the brain can recall. I ‘tested’ myself later to check what my brain remembered, and it was incredible. It also gave me a sense of empowerment that I can learn and embrace new technologies.”—Shiraz Shushan, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurse, Sheba Medical Center. Learn more about how Sheba Medical Center optimized staff training.
Empower care teams to collaborate effectively and securely from anywhere
Multidisciplinary care teams encompassing specialized clinicians, clinical staff, and healthcare administrators often span multiple hospitals or locations, adding time, cost, and complexity to patient care. Enable care teams to collaborate remotely and conduct virtual patient consultations with real-time spatial information to accelerate diagnoses and reduce time-to-treatment with HoloLens 2 and Dynamics 365 mixed reality solutions.
Using Dynamics 365 mixed reality solutions on HoloLens 2, medical staff can consult colleagues’ heads-up, hands-free through an interactive collaborative experience from anywhere in the world. Additionally, healthcare providers can improve access and care delivery to aging and underserved populations with remote assisted care consultations. These remote consultations also lead to major cost savings—the HoloLens 2 TEI study shows that healthcare providers reduced ward round time by 30 percent saving $41 per hour.
Each year, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust provides acute and specialist healthcare in northwest London for over a million and a half people. Like many healthcare providers around the world, when the COVID-19 pandemic started, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust rapidly began to redeploy and retrain its staff while at the same time coping with an increasing number of affected patients. With Dynamics 365 Remote Assist on HoloLens 2, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust was able to successfully conduct virtual ward rounds and treat very ill patients while limiting staff exposure to the deadly virus. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust reduced ward rounds from four doctors to one doctor by holding video calls with colleagues and experts from anywhere in the world heads-up, hands free. Doctors were also able to simultaneously access patient data such as medical notes, X-rays, and MRIs to effectively treat patients.
“What it means is that you have all the information, all the specialist care you need at the patient’s bedside there and then – and it’s all in one headset.”—Dr. James Kinross, consultant surgeon and senior lecturer, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Learn more about how Imperial College NHS Trust enabled virtual ward rounds.
Preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals while reducing costs
According to World Health Organization (WHO), to achieve the goal of universal health coverage by 2030, the world needs nine million more nurses and midwives.2 Dynamics 365 mixed reality and HoloLens 2 are advancing the learning of nurses and removing location barriers of in-person training while reducing costs.
Dynamics 365 Guides on HoloLens 2 enables healthcare providers and institutions to enhance the upskilling of nurses and reduce PPE costs with continuous, hands-on learning experiences remotely. Instructors and supervisors can track and monitor student and faculty progress with Power BI dashboards that pull in real-time performance data to maximize participant development and identify areas for operational improvements. The HoloLens TEI study reports that healthcare providers reduced annual PPE costs by 75 percent, saving $954 per employee.
The pandemic disrupted the operations of institutions around the world casting a clear gap in the effectiveness of hybrid learning tools. The School of Nursing at the University of Michigan (the University) turned to Dynamics 365 Guides on HoloLens 2 to support hybrid learning because of its ability to provide hands-on skills to nursing students remotely. The University piloted a program allowing students to conduct simulated, repeatable augmented medical procedures one step at a time. Dynamics 365 Guides on HoloLens 2 enabled students to follow the guided training heads-up, hands-free and simultaneously perform the procedures on mannequins. The University is continuing to develop and scale the program for more advanced nursing procedures.
“Once we were introduced to HoloLens 2 we learned about Dynamics 365 Guides, and it was pretty exciting because we realized that we could use the guides to create training tools to teach the nursing students how to do these necessary, rudimentary, required skills, and procedures that they have to do in order to move to the next level and go out and practice.”—Deborah Lee, clinical assistant professor, School of Nursing at the University of Michigan. Learn more about how University of Michigan is transforming nursing education.
Next steps
Our customer evidence stories, in addition to the material ROI showcased above, demonstrate that Microsoft offers not only innovative results, but long-term and sustainable solutions for healthcare organizations and beyond.
Learn more about how to get started today:
- Learn more about Microsoft HoloLens 2 and mixed reality capabilities.
- To learn more about business benefits and cost savings of mixed reality solutions, read the Total Economic Impact™ Of Mixed Reality Using Microsoft HoloLens 2 report.
- Request a Dynamics 365 Mixed Reality demo on Microsoft HoloLens 2. Book an appointment with our Microsoft Stores team today. Select ‘Other’ under Choose topic and reference HoloLens 2 demo in “What can we help with”.
Sources:
1- The Total Economic Impact™ Of Mixed Reality Using Microsoft HoloLens 2 Report, Forrester, 2022
