From pilot to practice: managing innovation in XR for healthcare training 

At Future Care Capital, we help health and care innovations move from promising pilots to meaningful, system-wide impact. One area with clear and growing potential is extended reality (XR) – an umbrella term for immersive technologies including virtual, augmented and mixed reality. 

In the context of medical education, XR offers more than novelty. It has the potential to transform how healthcare professionals learn, train and continuously develop, enabling better care delivered by more confident, capable teams. That is why XR is not just a technological trend – it is a meaningful innovation challenge. 

Why XR matters in health and care 

Training the current and future healthcare workforce is becoming more complex. Clinical placements are under pressure. Staff time is stretched. Traditional approaches to simulation and teaching are not always scalable. 

XR offers a way forward. Immersive technologies allow learners to practice clinical scenarios in safe, repeatable environments. They offer flexibility, consistency and realism – helping to build muscle memory and decision-making skills in ways that lectures or textbooks cannot. 

This is not just about clinical competence. It is also about workforce’s well-being. Well-trained professionals are more confident, more satisfied, and better supported to provide high-quality care. At scale, that leads to increased retention rates in the NHS which translates into better patient outcomes, reduced system strain and a more resilient sector. 

What we’ve seen – and what’s needed next 

In recent years, the pace of development in XR has accelerated – driven by advances in technology and catalysed by the Covid-19 pandemic, which limited access to in-person teaching and training. FCC’s exploration of XR in healthcare education has highlighted both the promise and the complexity of embedding this kind of innovation. 

Our work has surfaced some key insights: 

• The case for change is clear, particularly where access to clinical education is constrained 

• The technology is maturing rapidly, with use cases expanding and hardware becoming more accessible 

• The barriers to adoption are real – including procurement challenges, interoperability, lack of standards, and the need for robust evaluation 

It is not enough to identify potential. We must understand how innovation lands in the real world – how it fits into workflows, meets regulatory requirements, earns buy-in and demonstrates impact. That is where innovation management makes the difference. 

Read our full report on XR in Healthcare here  

How FCC supports innovation like XR 

FCC exists to help innovations like XR move beyond pilots and into practice. As part of our innovation management service, we work with healthcare providers, commissioners and tech developers to: 

• Shape strategic roadmaps for adoption and scaling 

• Build cross-sector partnerships that connect suppliers with users and funders 

• Ensure evaluation is built in, using programme logic and impact planning from the outset 

• Identify and remove barriers to progress, including governance, data-sharing and workforce engagement 

• Anchor innovation in what matters most – better care, better experience and better outcomes for patients and professionals 

We don’t push products. We create the conditions in which innovations that work, work better – and stick. 

A future worth building 

XR alone will not solve the challenges facing the health and care system. But, applied thoughtfully and at scale, it can help address workforce gaps, support continuous professional development, and improve the experience of those delivering and receiving care. 

We believe that the real potential of innovation lies not just in the technology itself but in the way it is implemented. That is why FCC continues to support organisations at every stage of the innovation journey – helping them bridge the gap between vision and value. 

If you’re exploring the role of XR or similar innovations in health and care, our team is ready to help you make it work. 

lauren@futurecarecapital.org.uk