Uses of Second LifeTM in doctor-patient relationships.

Second Life created by Linden Labs of San Francisco provides a 3D virtual environment where users can create a user account and using an avatar connect with other individuals as well as health care providers and create doctor-patient relationships. My first foray into Second Life left me with a feeling that I have not quite seen or experienced anything like this before. It was a feeling that provided a very surreal experience.

My self-exploratory tours of Second Life gave me some exposure to this new medium, but it was not till I took a virtual tour of Second Life with faculty’s Ms. Bernadette Swanson, that I began to understand the various tools available to users such as customizing one’s size, clothes, being able to make purchases using Linden currency. It is then that I began to grasp the versatility under the guise of anonymity this medium offered.

Knowing what I know now, I can definitely envision several areas where Second Life can assist in fostering and facilitating the doctor –patient relationships/interactions.

For instance, I can envision individuals who are shy or may have poor self-image of themselves could take on a fantasy character and while being in complete anonymity have therapy sessions with their doctor. Or for instance if someone had challenges secondary to an anxiety disorder such as Agoraphobia may benefit from interacting with others in a virtual environment and find this medium to be therapeutic.

Another area where I think a patient-doctor relationship can take advantage of the virtual environment offered by Second Life is teaching patients basic independent living skills of Money Management. Since Second Life offers the ability for users to make purchases using Linden Dollars it provides a perfect opportunity to for healthcare providers to work directly with their patients in a quasi controlled environment. It provides for an opportunity for the patients to empower themselves without sacrificing their personal independence in delicate matters such as money management skills.

While the above examples may represent only tip of an iceberg in terms of how the virtual environment of Second Life can be used to assist in fostering and facilitating the doctor –patient relationships/interactions, there are however some pitfalls too. Such as navigating in Second Life entails one be able to process and execute multi-tasking skills. For patients having difficulty with processing information and ability multi-task, this medium could be an hindrance. Also patients with low frustration tolerance would probably find Second Life’s environment to be challenging and a source of negative stimuli. Additionally, in order to fully benefit from Second Life’s virtual environment one would need to have a decent internet connection, per Second Life’s help section Cable or DSL, and hardware relatively newer (2-3 years old) computer.

All in all, I believe Second Life provides an excellent medium for fostering patient-doctor exchange, while respecting the patient’s privacy and not to mention the comfort of remote Telemedicine. Good for the doctor, the patient and the environment.