Introduction:
Nationwide Children’s Hospital is located in Columbus, Ohio. Nationwide Children’s hospital uses a combination of pain management techniques in order to avoid reliance on drug-based therapies. VR (virtual reality) games are introduced to patients along with breathing techniques to manage pain during treatments and therapy. The aim is “to evaluate a virtual reality-based pain alleviation tool in reducing perceived pain and observed pain for pediatric burn dressing changes.” This study had three comparison groups. Two control groups and an intervention group. Initial results showed a 50 percent reduction in pain experienced. Findings from the study show the importance of obtaining responses from all parties involved in the treatment process; parents, patients, and providers.
How to Cultivate Innovation:
Cultivating innovation requires 3 key perspectives from: people, process, and technology. A large team of people is required from clinical, research, and IT perspectives. There must be focus on both the future and current state of healthcare delivery. An innovation project is run by a PHD project scientist. This scientist interacts with programmers, designers and many others. This network utilized by the PHD scientist ensures that different perspectives are included. The projects begin as ideas and are then narrowed down into proposals. After that, a committee examines proposals and narrows them down into projects. This process ensures innovation by allowing many different backgrounds to be a part of the decision-making process.