Using Virtual Reality to Mobilize Health Care: Mobile Virtual Reality Technology for Attenuation of Anxiety and Pain

In 2016, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidelines regarding the use and prescription of opioids for the treatment of chronic pain [1]. Today, "the CDC recommends that opioids should not be the first line or only treatment for patients who present with chronic noncancer pain" [2]. Additionally, the National Institute on Drug Abuse suggests that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) offers significant advantages and is effective for pain management in many situations where narcotics were previously prescribed. The American College of Physicians has also released new guidelines for the treatment of lower back pain and recommends a nonnarcotic CBT-based approach [3]. These new approaches come at a time when new technologies are being developed as a means to enhance patient engagement and education and to supplement care with information and communication technologies (ICTs) (Figure 1) [4], [5]. For more than 20 years, researchers and clinicians have been applying technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), to conquer specific phobias and anxiety disorders, overcome posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and rehabilitate patients suffering from chronic pain or other debilitating incidents [6]-[9]. The continued trend of migration to mobile devices has increased access and flexibility in patients who seek convenient health-care services. In the future, many patients who routinely use their mobile phone for social networking, commerce, and banking will most likely demand that health-care services be made equally available.