HHS is seeking a contractor to provide simulated training to healthcare personnel to treat highly pathogenic diseases, and the agency wants to incorporate virtual reality into that training.
According to a solicitation posting on FedBizOpps, HHS' Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response is seeking a contractor to provide training curricula for treating sick individuals as well as the space to quarantine and monitor individuals during potential or actual outbreaks "of Ebola or other highly pathogenic disease."
Using virtual reality in such training settings would immerse individuals into a simulated and interactive environment representative of what the actual situation would be like. According to Nextgov, a group of virtual reality advocates lobbied the Capitol earlier this summer, detailing how the government can use virtual reality for education and training purposes.
ASPR indicates potential contractors could be U.S. hospitals that have successfully cared for patients with Ebola or other pathogenic disease for the full duration of an illness. The contractor will need to provide the facility, including incurring all necessary design and construction costs of the training and quarantine facility, according to the solicitation.
Click here to view the solicitation.
More articles on health IT:
Not in Silicon Valley anymore: The new health IT hubs
Is Uber already the 'Uber of healthcare?'
The ethics of labeling 'frequent fliers' in the EHR