Columbus, OH — The trend toward Virtual Reality experiences is continuing to rise and has become more than just another techie buzzword. With the various headsets that are coming out and have come out like the Samsung Gear and the HTC Vive, it is having a huge impact in advertising and gaming. Normally Healthcare is a little bit slow to adopt innovations due to the heavily regulated industry in which it resides, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for Virtual Reality. Companies like VRHealthNet and Medical Realities have embraced and capitalized on this new medium. The majority of these innovations are in the training space and they predict huge cost savings with little to no risk to the patient. According to VRHealthNet the use of this technology and training system can reduce training costs by up to 75% and improve the quality of care by providing hands-on experiences. Medical Realities is providing surgical training for novice doctors and hosting the world’s first live VR operation on April 14th.
Why this matters:
Learning in this way limits risk and the cost associated with training in many of the most critical healthcare environments. Doctors can practice difficult or rare procedures, and caregivers can learn what to do in emergency situations.
About the Author:
As Managing Director of Innovation and Insights for Syneos Health Communications, Leigh is responsible for building and scaling a global team of healthcare experts who together help life science leaders better understand the complex lives, influences and expectations of their customers. Specifically, they uncover actionable insights that fuel empathy and creativity; lead co-creation events that let marketers learn from peers, trends, and new possibilities; and help clients identify the most valuable and useful new customer experiences to create.
Leigh has worked with Fortune 1000 companies to craft their digital, mobile, social and CRM strategies for nearly 20 years.She’s worked for category-leading agencies in retail, public affairs, B2B technology, and higher education. Prior to moving to Syneos Health Communications, she held several leadership roles at our largest agency, GSW. There, she founded an innovation practice fueled by the zeitgeist and spearheaded digital and innovation thinking across the business.
Leigh has taken a special interest in complex healthcare products that can change lives in meaningful ways. She was recently a strategic lead on the 3rd largest launch in pharmaceutical history: Tecfidera. Before that she had keys roles with Eli Lilly Oncology, Abbott Nutrition, Amgen Cardiovascular, and Eli Lilly Diabetes.
A critical part of Leigh’s work is trends and new ideas. Every year, she convenes a group of trend watchers from across our global network to identify the shifts most critical to healthcare marketers. This year, she led over 250 experts to experts to focus on the most important changes in the commercial, consumer, marketing, digital and healthcare landscapes. (See reports at trends.health)
Leigh is a sought-after writer and speaker. Recognized as one of the most inspiring people in the pharmaceutical industry by PharmaVoice and Top 10 Innovation Catalysts of 2017 by MM&M, Leigh also was recognized as a Rising Star by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) for her overt passion, industry thought leadership and significant contributions in new business, strategy and mentoring.
