The Emirates Health Services (EHS) will become the first health authority in the world to launch in the metaverse. The authority will use virtual reality and other technologies to offer virtual medical consultations and expand access to health services.

The EHS aims to launch and activate mental health consultations and customer happiness services by the end of 2022. Family health counselling is set to be launched by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

These came as the Board of Directors at EHS discussed its "transformational projects" worth Bh53.7 million that are scheduled to be completed by December 2022. The meeting discussed the plans for implementing a venture that aims to strengthen community mental health services, which include prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.

Specialised units for mental health services called 'Halfway Villas' will be opened in partnership with the private sector. The authority will also set up a network of digital mental health clinics and a hotline. Specialised mental health units will be opened In primary healthcare centres and hospitals.

Specialised mental health units will be opened in primary healthcare centres and hospitals. Dr Mohamed Salim Al Olama, chairman of the EHS Board of Directors, said:

"Emirates Health Services is committed to being among the first government entities to implement the transformational projects approach since its nationwide launch. We strive to significantly advance the health services we provide by embracing advanced technologies, developing treatment protocols, and abiding by the highest standards of medical services, in line with the UAE's leading position on the global health map."

In other news with healthcare entering the metaverse, doctors and nurses are starting to quickly and efficiently diagnose many minor conditions (that make up the vast majority of their caseload) via a telephone or video call. Telemedicine consultations, particularly through VR, mean patients are no longer limited to being treated by particular clinicians due to their physical location. VR is getting used by doctors and experts to train fellow doctors and medical staff. Together, they can create entirely new channels for delivering care that have the potential to lower costs and vastly improve patient outcomes.

The Metaverse is already showing signs in digital therapeutics is seeing rapid adoption of this form of therapy, where VR and AR tech in the metaverse enables applications such as cognitive therapy, support groups, psychiatric evaluations, rehabilitation, and even physical therapy with the support of haptic sensors.

The Metaverse is expected to be an effective tool to help perform complicated surgical procedures and enhance patient care. As surgical procedures were already using robotics, now complicated surgeries are all set to use AR, and for efficient diagnosis using tech such as smart glasses.