Virtual Reality for At-Home Chronic Pain Management

Last updated 2023-09-21T16:37:42Z

The Veterans Health Administration’s VA Immersive, in collaboration with the Office of Pain Management, is utilizing the AppliedVR RelieVRx platform to supplement VA-provided chronic pain management interventions. The innovation offers a skills-based approach packaged in an eight-week sequential multi-modal immersive therapeutic program. The Food and Drug Administration authorized in-home and self-administered care program aids to increase continuity of care and access to chronic pain management.

Origin:

December 2022, Aleda E. Lutz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Saginaw, Michigan), Grand Prairie VA Clinic, Ioannis A. Lougaris Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Reno), James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Bronx), Marianna VA Clinic, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Houston), Minneapolis VA Medical Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Palo Alto VA Medical Center (Palo Alto, California), Pittsburgh VA Medical Center-University Drive, Raymond G. Murphy Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Albuquerque), Sam Rayburn Memorial Veterans Center (Bonham), Seattle VA Medical Center, Togus VA Medical Center, Troy Bowling Campus (Lexington Cooper), Tucson VA Medical Center, White City VA Medical Center

Adoptions:

16 successful

Overview

The problem

Many Veterans struggle with chronic pain symptoms and, as a group, Veterans are at an increased risk of chronic pain when compared to civilians. Amongst military Veterans, approximately one-in-five Veterans report persistent pain and one-in-three have been diagnosed with a condition related to chronic pain. Chronic pain symptoms may affect Veterans for years ... Many Veterans struggle with chronic pain symptoms and, as a group, Veterans are at an increased risk of chronic pain when compared to civilians. Amongst military Veterans, approximately one-in-five Veterans report persistent pain and one-in-three have been diagnosed with a condition related to chronic pain. Chronic pain symptoms may affect Veterans for years after their service, and there are little to no resources that can effectively combat these symptoms. Chronic pain treatment necessitates innovations that are clinically applicable and cost-effective. See more

The solution

The collaboration between the Office of Pain Management and VA Immersive combats Veterans’ chronic pain by increasing access to at-home virtual reality sessions that teach the skills needed to better manage chronic pain. As a supplement to existing VA-provided chronic pain interventions, this solution allows Veterans to effectively treat chronic pain symptom ... The collaboration between the Office of Pain Management and VA Immersive combats Veterans’ chronic pain by increasing access to at-home virtual reality sessions that teach the skills needed to better manage chronic pain. As a supplement to existing VA-provided chronic pain interventions, this solution allows Veterans to effectively treat chronic pain symptoms from the comfort of their own homes without compromising the effectiveness of their care. Additionally, the innovation empowers Veterans with a solution that decreases their reliance on pharmacological modalities, significantly reducing the chance of addiction. See more

The results

Thus far, 250 Veterans have been enrolled in this pilot with positive outcomes demonstrated through patient-reported surveys. Experience of both the clinicians and Veterans are also being evaluated in collaboration with VA’s Quality Enhancement Research Initiative program.

Metrics

250 Veterans enrolled between April and July 2023 at 12 VA medical centers.
Data analysis on patient-reported outcome measures and experience will be forthcoming.

Diffusion tracker

Does not include Clinical Resource Hubs (CRH)

AZ: Tucson VA Medical Center (Tucson) CA: Palo Alto VA Medical Center (Palo Alto, California) FL: Marianna VA Clinic (Marianna) KY: Troy Bowling Campus (Lexington Cooper) ME: Togus VA Medical Center (Togus) MI: Aleda E. Lutz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Saginaw, Michigan) MN: Minneapolis VA Medical Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota) NM: Raymond G. Murphy Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Albuquerque) NV: Ioannis A. Lougaris Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Reno) NY: James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Bronx) OR: White City VA Medical Center (White City) PA: Pittsburgh VA Medical Center-University Drive (Pittsburgh) TX: Grand Prairie VA Clinic (Grand Prairie) TX: Michael E. DeBakey Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Houston) TX: Sam Rayburn Memorial Veterans Center (Bonham) WA: Seattle VA Medical Center (Seattle)

There are no in-progress adoptions for this innovation.

There are no unsuccessful adoptions for this innovation.

Implementation

Core Resources

Resource type	Resource description
TOOLS	Pico G2 4K VR Headset + Controller AppliedVR RelieVRx Platform

Contact

Comment

Comments and replies are disabled for retired innovations and non-VA users.

Email

Email vaimmersive@va.gov with questions about this innovation.

About

Origin story

Veterans experience chronic pain at a higher rate and higher intensity than the general population. While the VA offers many modalities through local, Veteran Integrated Services Networks and national programs, many of these require on-station participation or may only be offered once a month. Through a collaboration with of the Office of Pain Management, VA ... Veterans experience chronic pain at a higher rate and higher intensity than the general population. While the VA offers many modalities through local, Veteran Integrated Services Networks and national programs, many of these require on-station participation or may only be offered once a month. Through a collaboration with of the Office of Pain Management, VA Immersive sought to pilot a solution that extends the footprint of VA medical centers and facilities by enabling clinicians to provide virtual reality devices for use at home with specialized virtual content to impact and teach better coping strategies for chronic pain management.

Search tags

Access to Care Extended Reality (XR) Psychiatry

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