XRA AND UMDIHC HOST FIRST WORKSHOP OF XRX HEALTHCARE SUMMIT 

On April 2, 2026, the XR Association (XRA) and the University of Maryland’s Institute for Health Computing (UMDIHC) hosted the first workshop of the XRx Healthcare Summit. The Summit is a working forum that convenes leading health systems, clinicians, payers, patients, technologists, and policymakers to identify concrete pathways for scaling XR in care delivery, workforce training, and health system operations. The broader goal of the Summit is to address the question: Why hasn’t XR scaled in healthcare, and what can be done to change that?

The first workshop focused on clinician-facing use cases for extended reality (XR) in the healthcare field, particularly the use of XR in live and near-live care delivery, including diagnosis, treatment, communication, and team-based decision-making. Medical universities, physicians, XR solution providers, headset manufacturers, and federal government representatives shared their insights, frustrations, and passion for XR solutions in multiple healthcare arenas.

Discussion throughout the day highlighted several persistent challenges, including long procurement timelines, MDM challenges, moving from pilot to full deployment, hygiene requirements, and beyond. It was noted that each hospital system has unique procurement processes and approval structures. Additionally, a key finding was that there is often no single hospital team with clear ownership of XR devices.

The next workshop will focus on patient-facing uses of XR in healthcare, including both the challenges and opportunities for patients. Organizations interested in participating in future sessions should contact Stephanie Montgomery, Senior Vice President of Research and Best Practices, at smontgomery@xra.org.