Palomar Pomerado Health (PPH) teamed up with Cisco Systems, Inc. to launch a virtual Second Life model in February 2008 of new medical center that will not be completed until 2011. The cost of the online real estate was only $1,695, but PPH had to spend another $135,000 in design costs. Although it is still too early to tell how successful this initiative will be, Second Life provides the hospital with an effective platform to preview the new facility and recruit human capital.
Business Challenge
In the fall of 2004 San Diego North County California voters approved a landmark health care bond package to finance a large-scale expansion of Palomar Pomerado Health (PPH) facilities to be called Palomar Medical Center West.1 This new project, which will serve a health care district spanning from San Diego to Riverside County, has a projected cost of $811 million and will cover 1.2 million square feet and serve over 900,000 people. PPH leadership have selected this project as an opportunity for leveraging the latest medical technologies to create an innovative medical environment that positively impacts health recovery, safety and satisfaction. Presently Cisco Systems, Inc. is collaborating with PPH to develop a series of new medical services such as new operating rooms equipped with robotics technology and functional imaging systems capable of supporting surgeries and other procedures.2
Although anticipation is already growing for Palomar Medical Center West, the project did not officially break ground until December 2007 and will not be completed until 2011.3 Hospital administrators such as CEO Michael Covert have sought a means of previewing the new facility to hospital staff, future patients, media, and the larger medical community. Consequently, Covert along with other key administrators including Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Orlando Portale decided opening a virtual model of the hospital in Second Life would provide a relatively easy and inexpensive to preview the project for their diverse community of stakeholders.4
Approach Taken
When Palomar Pomerado Health hired Orlando Portale in May 2007, he arrived armed with plans to put the hospital into Second Life. By the end of the year, PPH had contracted with Cisco, the vendor developing the real-life medical technologies for the hospital (see above,) to design a virtual form of the facility located on a 900-square-meter island. While purchasing the space on Second Life only cost PPH $1,695, an additional $135,000 in design fees was required to complete the project.5
A general tour of Virtual Palomar Medical Center West.
Launched in February 2008, the Second Life model of Palomar Medical Center was designed with easy access for non-Second Life regulars in mind. For example, through the hospital's website visitors are able to download the program and be transported directly to the facility. Further, additional navigational instructions are provided to guide users through the basics of Second Life.6
1. Advanced Robotics: The simulation includes Palomar West's operating rooms and an advanced surgical cockpit, from where a surgeon can manipulate robotic systems remotely while viewing vital signs and functional imaging information in real time.
2. 3D Holographic Medical Imaging: The Second Life model features mobile, remote-controlled, 3D holographic medical images that can be directed into a patient's room.
3. Visibility and Tracking Solutions: Visitors are guided through the virtual hospital by radio frequency-enabled sensors that enhance security and safety through patient tracking.
A hospital room in Virtual Palomar Medical Center West.
Results Achieved
Since PPH only launched their Second Life project this year, it is still too early to evaluate the full return-on-investment. However, one early benefit is that the virtual hospital has given this health district an effective platform for recruiting nurses by demonstrating Palomar's future features and generally creating excitement around the project.8 PPH Administrators have already observed a significant number of nursing students and practitioners visiting the site. Also in the near future, the hospital plans to use its Second Life model as a virtual career fair not just for nurses, but also for other medical personnel seeking employment. And while this effort has yet to be launched, it will likely provide a solid return-on-investment.
Lessons Learned
The conclusions to be drawn from PPH's initiative are still-forth coming. But one issue to keep track of regarding to lessons learned is the hospital's decision to feature a variety of new developmental technologies that may or might not be included in the real-life medical center. If the Second Life hospital proves to be an effective laboratory for testing out new procedures and equipment, this decision will ultimately prove to have been quite prudent. However, since the design costs for the virtual model are significant, if many of the technologies featured in the virtual model are not ultimately used, some of the initial content decisions for the Second Life model could be reevaluated.
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