At White Rhino, we're passionate about harnessing the power of technology and neuroscience to create scalable change in Healthcare. In the process, we come across important stories that embody the kind of change we strive for in our own work. Here are some of our favorite headlines and stories from the past week.
Let’s kick things off with a story about CVS from Nathan Bomey of USA Today.
Remember when doctors made house calls? Well, that practice of the past is about to come to the future. In a move to expand its Minute Clinic brand, drugstore titan CVS Health will launch a telemedicine service. This program will allow digital doctors to diagnosis conditions such as colds, flus, skin issues and general wellness matters on demand on the CVS app. This innovative program is exactly the type of work that inspires our team. Meeting patients where they are in their lives, to keep them healthy is truly groundbreaking. Our interconnectivity should extend past social interaction and extend to all areas of our lives including ways to make being healthy more convenient. This cold and flu season, spread less germs and stay inside and have your doctor visit you… on your phone.
The next story that caught our attention is from Abby Goodnough at the New York Times.
She writes about a California hospital treating the opioid addiction in a more impactful way, by giving patients who come to the ER suffering from opioid withdrawl buprenorphine on the spot. Buprenorphine is one of three medications approved in the United States to treat opioid addiction, it works by easing withdrawal symptoms and cravings. While this practice seems logical, right now there aren’t many hospitals making this life changing decision. There is a gaping hole in a medical system that fails to provide treatment on demand, even as the number of Americans suffering from opioid addiction increases.
We applaud highlighting of this program and, as a team, we are working on our own project to help battle this health crisis through the power of virtual reality. In the coming months we will be able to share more, but for now, we extend gratitude for the commitment of reporters, hospitals and individuals working to make a difference in the lives of opioid addicts.
While we have virtual reality on the brain, we have a lighter story to share demonstrating the power that VR has over many industries outside of healthcare.
Bill Hardekopf of Forbes writes about big box retail giant Wal*Mart filing a patent for at home virtual reality shopping. While these experiences might take a while to come to fruition, they certainly add a sense of urgency for retail brands to make in-store and online customer experiences more integrated, personalized and forward thinking.
Just thinking about all of these on-demand healthcare and retail experiences coming to consumers makes us even more enthusiastic about the plans we have to help disrupt these spaces. Be sure to keep up with our perspectives and catch the next Rhino Round-Up by following us on Twitter @RhinoTalk.
