Proof of Concept: Virtual Reality Simulation of a Pyxis Machine for Medication Administration

BackgroundMedication errors occur in highly complex health care environments. A challenge exists to replicate complex environments to study the effect on medication error rates. Virtual reality three-dimensional (3-D) simulation holds promise for faithfully duplicating such environments.MethodsA proof of concept study was conducted to examine the feasibility of virtual reality 3-D simulation to reliably mirror medication withdrawal from an electronic medication dispensing system (Pyxis) in a complex health care environment using a convenience sample of clinical nursing faculty.ResultsParticipants felt that the simulated environment was realistic. The computer-generated Pyxis system did not function as well in the virtual environment compared with an actual environment. A perceived discrepancy between the actual process and the simulation was identified as a problem requiring further refinement.ConclusionVirtual reality 3-D simulation holds great promise for future research and training of health care professionals. This proof-of-concept study demonstrated that replicating complex health care environments is achievable through attention to detail and a focus on immersion.