An essential to any planning, whether strategic or not, is a clear and accurate model of the future. Architects have often led the way with their realistic models of future office buildings. Those of us in IT are envious because models of future information systems often are lacking. Further, it is much more difficult to model the future organizational structures and business processes of the people who will inhabit those buildings.

Here is an interesting development that uses virtual world (VW) technology. The Palomar Pomerado Health (PPH) is constructing the new Palomar Medical Center West hospital that will open in 2011. Partnering with Cisco, a full-size model of that hospital has been created virtually in Second Life. See this two-minute video pitching their vision of the Hospital of the Future. For more details, check out this press release and blog from Cisco. The virtual hospital is located here in Second Life.

The interesting part is that hospital model includes more than walls and windows. The interior organization of labs, operating rooms and the like, along with the associated equipment, can be quickly and easily changed. Further, simulations of critical healthcare procedures, like surgical operations, can be conducted to tune facilities design, information flows, and care processes. They have over three years to conduct these refinements prior to actual operation.

It will be instructive to monitor the activities surrounding this virtual hospital to see the specific ways that the eventual operation of the real hospital will be impacted. Even more instructive is to watch for uses of the virtual model AFTER the hospital is in operation.

A previous article about serious games in VW argued that there are four levels of modeling. The highest is where the virtual model reflects reality in real-time and changes to the model are reflected back as changes in the real world. Perhaps hospital administrators will find that managing the virtual model will provide insights to improving real healthcare to real patients.