Inside the Rise of Immersive Telehealth: Trends, Evidence, and What’s Next

Researchers and clinicians are looking for ways to make telehealth more like or better than in-person care. Recent advances in extended reality are now enabling new forms of immersive telehealth.Extended reality (XR) is the umbrella term for augmented, mixed, and virtual reality–highly immersive simulation technologies that are increasingly demonstrated to be effective for healthcare. Advances in equipment and software are making XR accessible over the internet, enabling new forms of immersive telehealth.XR therapy is cost-efficient for a wide range of healthcare applications including inpatient recovery, wound care, surgery, physical and cognitive rehabilitation, medical training, patient education, and pain management. The unique immersiveness of XR makes it particularly appealing for mental health care.