Update on VR in healthcare: Indications, Accessibility, Value Based Care Approach (Aaron Gani, BehaVR)
VR is becoming a well-established tool in healthcare and medicine to help treat pain management, anxiety, mental wellness, and more.
Thousands of studies have shown the efficacy of VR approaches for health because of the impact of the immersive experience offered by this technology.
In this episode, you’ll hear an update on the field with Aaron Gani, CEO of BehaVR, a company providing virtual reality solutions to address pain management, anxiety, mental wellness, and social engagement.
Topics covered:
The latest on reimbursement: it is possible through value-based contracts,
Shifts in digital therapeutics companies' business models: from prescription-only to B2C,
Impact of VR on decreasing opioid use in pain management,
thoughts about VR and psychedelics since both approaches leverage altered states of consciousness.
Advancements in VR Hardware and Platforms
The majority of players in the VR healthcare and therapeutics market utilize consumer-grade, off-the-shelf hardware.
The quality of available technology is steadily improving, becoming more cost-effective, comfortable, convenient, lighter, and widely accessible each year, significantly enhancing mixed reality capabilities and end-user experience.
Evolution of Digital Therapeutics in Healthcare
The sector is witnessing clearer regulatory frameworks, with more entities understanding their market path from perspectives such as general wellness, class 2 exempt products, prescription, or over-the-counter options.
Despite setbacks (e.g., the paratherapeutics incident causing market apprehension), the situation is compelling digital therapeutics companies to reassess their strategies toward market relevance, share, and revenue.
With the setbacks and scaling challenges companies faced by taking the prescription-only approach, “surviving” companies are switching to making their solution available directly to consumers as well.
Strategic Considerations for Market Entry
Companies are urged to consider specific factors like the targeted disease state, its impact on sufferers, and the implications of addressing or not addressing the condition.
The path to market varies significantly based on these characteristics, necessitating a detailed, condition-specific approach rather than a broad, category-wide analysis.
Value-Based Care as VR Reimbursement Approach
Value-based care represents a paradigm shift in healthcare, moving away from the traditional fee-for-service system that emphasizes paid services to a model focused on the quality of care provided. According to Aaron Gani, who has been working in managed care for years, value-based care aligns with the economic interests of various stakeholders, including traditional payers, self-insured employers, and providers taking on partial or full risk. These entities prioritize effective, scalable solutions for improving member health over concerns about service-specific reimbursements.
Digital therapeutics, with their potential for exponential scalability and reduced marginal costs, fit well into this model. They appeal to risk-bearing, value-based entities by promising enhanced member engagement, improved health outcomes, and overall savings, without the entities worrying about specific reimbursement codes, says Aaron Gani.
Addressing the slow progress on establishing CPT codes for VR and similar therapies, Aaron Gani suggests that focusing solely on CPT codes and fee-for-service reimbursements overlooks the broader opportunities presented by value creation.
Digital therapeutics, including VR, have a unique capacity for scalability, essentially limitless and cost-effective, capable of driving significant improvements in health outcomes and system savings.
Payers may not fully grasp the nuances of digital therapeutics or virtual reality, but they understand the concept of engaging high-cost member populations to enhance health, generate better outcomes, and drive savings. The key is demonstrating a tangible return on investment, proving that digital methods can create value not just by transferring it from one party to another, but by genuinely enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery.
VR for Chronic Pain
In the US the opioid crisis is still in progress because of years-long overprescribing of these powerful drugs beyond short-term use for acute pain. Patients require assistance to cease opioid usage, but VR can be a tool to aid pain management. BehaVR's approach for pain management encompasses pain neuroscience education, calming and mindfulness practices, parasympathetic nervous system activation, and gamified graded exercise and movement. This comprehensive program aims to help patients understand, manage, and reduce their pain.
For patients dependent on opioids, the program assists in mitigating withdrawal fears and cravings, using a digitized version of Dr. Eric Garland's Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) Protocol. This method aims to rewire brain reward pathways altered by prolonged opioid use.
Tune in to the full episode.