Anne Lord Bailey, '14, uses immersive technology to advance veteran care
A USC College of Pharmacy alumna is taking the immersive technology of virtual reality and incorporating it in ways for U.S. veterans to receive advanced care.
Anne Lord Bailey, 2014, is executive director of the Strategic Initiatives Lab within the Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. As a USC student, a rotation at the Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center spurred her interest in working with the VA.
She joined the Western North Carolina VA Healthcare System in Asheville, North Carolina,
first as a resident, then as a clinical pharmacy practitioner. In 2020, she joined
VHA’s Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning to lead implementation of emerging
technology. A year later, she and the team founded VA Immersive to lead
the implementation of virtual and augmented reality across the VA.
“We have seen a real revolution,” Bailey says. “Not only in the technology, but because of the VA’s adoption of the technology, we have seen an absolute change in peoples’ receptivity to the concept.”
Application of immersive technology is impacting patients and VA employees and staff across more than 40 indications. Areas include supportive mental health care, pain management, training and education and physical rehabilitation.
“Many of the specialists in blind rehabilitation are using virtual reality to help teach patients things that they otherwise would have to do in a one-to-one setting,” Bailey says. “Also, physical therapists can augment therapy with VR, engaging patients in an entirely different, virtual environment that can be tailored to the patient’s needs while also providing objective feedback and data.”
For a patient who is in acute pain, suddenly they are sitting on a beach, in a relaxing environment, interacting with an engaging environment and, ultimately, not thinking about that pain.
Success across environments
Results for patients can include an improved range of motion, increased engagement and the ability to be in an environment where they no longer anticipate pain.
In the most expansive adaptation of the technology, it is used as a positive distraction, much like how a parent might attract a child’s attention away from a scraped knee.
“Virtual reality works the same way,” Bailey says. “For a patient who is in acute pain, suddenly they are sitting on a beach, in a relaxing environment, interacting with an engaging environment and, ultimately, not thinking about that pain.”
The technology can also assist with chronic pain management.
“Immersive technology provides the ability to utilize evidence-based practice, like cognitive behavioral therapy, to support learning disciplines and skills that may otherwise be difficult to learn or retain,” Bailey says.
Bailey has also worked with VA’s Veterans Experience Office to help design VR experiences that provide empathy training for employees who are part of the inpatient discharge process. These VR training experiences allow staff to walk through the inpatient discharge process from the patient’s perspective.
"These experiences are based on real life stories from our patients,” she says. “Through virtual reality, the employee is now in a hospital room where people come and go, give instructions, and it can be a frustrating process. This helps our employees build empathy to understand and appreciate the process and deliver better care.”
Growing and helping
Bailey and her team had to overcome barriers to get buy-in for the technology.
“It is historically related to gaming,” Bailey says. “There are actually three decades of academic research supporting use of this technology in health care, and VA has had the opportunity to test and show that value. I am excited to see where we go next.”
At its inception, VA Immersive had a staff of 10 and saw only a few medical centers participating. It is now at more than 170 sites with 2,300 staff.
Collaboration and community building have been central to VA Immersive success, across VA, but also with industry, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions and government agencies.
“Our entire team has spent time serving veterans in VA medical centers,” Bailey says. “We understand the day-to-day challenges, but we also want to continue to lean in to better understand.”
Use of immersive technology has helped to impact opioid use and length of hospital stays, and it has helped decrease anxiety and pain.
“This is a win for everybody,” Bailey says. “Framing the potential of the technology, lowering barriers and encouraging collaboration have led to tremendous growth of the program, which means better care for so many more veterans.”
Topics: Alumni, Pharm.D. Program, Research