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Kyle ER & Hospital and Cynergi Health Partners have paired virtual reality (VR) with traditional medication-assisted detox to ease withdrawal symptoms in patients with addiction.
Dr. Harbir Singh, MD, MBA, FACEP, explained his hospital’s innovative use of virtual reality in detox at CES’ Digital Health Summit on Jan. 8 in Las Vegas.
Spotlighting more than 175 innovative companies in Health & Wellness Technology, CES’ Digital Health Summit is produced annually by Living in Digital Times, a series of conferences and events presented in partnership with CES Las Vegas, the world’s largest showcase for innovation in consumer technologies.
A board certified emergency room physician, Singh is CEO of Kyle ER & Hospital in Kyle, the first hospital to use the tools, and a co-founder of Cynergi Health Partners, which provides the virtual reality programs.
“Our community hospital paired a suite of virtual reality experiences — which can reduce apprehension and panic during withdrawal — with a traditional medication-assisted detox program for patients suffering from substance abuse,” Dr. Singh said. “We've used the latter for many years, but the VR component adds soothing imagery and sounds and leverages proven psychological techniques to make the process easier.
The technology can be used alongside medical treatment for many addictive conditions, including alcohol, opioid and benzodiazepine (benzo) addictions, according to Singh.
The innovation holds promise not only in helping patients succeed but also in helping community and rural hospitals better treat the large numbers of patients suffering from addiction to opioids, alcohol and benzodiazepines, according to Dr. Arshya Vahabzadeh, MD, MRCGP, a co-founder of Cynergi Health and the psychiatrist who developed the virtual reality protocols
“Patients struggling with addiction should know there is additional hope now because of the assistance VR can lend to their medical treatment,” Dr. Vahabzadeh said. “And community hospitals now have a better way to help the overwhelming number of people in their areas who are affected by addiction.”
"This year’s Summit zeroed in on the exponential tech-assisted transformation underway for healthcare,” Digital Health Summit Producer Jill Gilbert said. “Kyle ER & Hospital and Cynergi Health Partners are providing breakthrough benefits to patients by adding VR to traditional medication-assisted detoxification programs.”
Cynergi Health Partners’ suite of virtual reality experiences leverages proven psychological techniques and soothing images and sounds to make medication-assisted detox easier and to help patients succeed once their treatment has ended. Its turnkey services help community and rural hospitals bring needed treatment options to their communities while supporting revenues. Go to Cynergi Health Partners' website for more information.
Learn more about Kyle ER & Hospital at their website.
