Not far in the future… doctors might prescribe a virtual beach vacation to calm aches and pains, in lieu of taking a pill. Insurance companies might offer scenic tours of Icelandic fjords to lower blood pressure, instead of doubling up on drugs. Psychiatrists might treat social phobia by immersing patients in a virtual dinner party.

It’s starting to happen right now because of virtual reality (VR) – the mind-bending technology that offers immersive, multisensory environments that nudge our brains into thinking we are somewhere else.

For decades, scientists have been discovering the surprising health benefits of VR for ailments ranging from burn injuries, to stroke, to posttraumatic stress. Thousands of studies reveal that VR has an uncanny ability to block pain, calm nerves and boost mental health – all without drugs and their unwanted side effects. But the technology has been too expensive, unreliable and unwieldy for the research to translate beyond the pages of academic journals and doctoral dissertations.

WIRED Health is a one-day conference exploring the future of health, digital health and healthcare. Celebrating the thought-provoking (and sometimes regulation-changing) disruptors, scientists and practitioners who are paving new paths in patient care, this event connects professionals with innovative brands and startups to provide the right inspiration and context for implementing change. Each year since its launch in 2012, WIRED Health attracts hundreds of healthcare, pharmaceutical, researchers, technologists and influencers. With big ideas on the Keynote stage and intimate fireside chats on the Access stage, this health community event provides a well-rounded overview of where the health industry is moving towards and highlights some of the most exciting startups and scaleups offering new technology making shift possible.

Join us for the Digital Health CEO Summit

Rock Health and Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship present our seventh annual Digital Health CEO Summit, an invite-only event bringing together over 120 CEOs from the top digital healthcare companies. This Summit is structured like an organized unconference with ample opportunity for participants to share their knowledge and expertise with each other.

The Wall Street Journal’s inaugural health technology conference will explore how the global health-care industry is being disrupted by advances and innovations in technology. Attendees will hear from some of the most influential names in health, medicine and tech including C-suite executives, founders and investors who will discuss and debate the most pressing issues in health tech.

Topics to be explored include the biggest opportunities and challenges for big tech companies as they venture into health care; how advances in AI and machine learning are impacting the sector; advances in DNA testing and genomics; where the big funding bets are being made; and more.

Inspirations for a patient centric healthcare system.

Digital Health Summit convenes one of the broadest spectrum audiences which makes it a can’t miss event. Everyone from healthcare providers, buyers, payers, investors, developers, policy makers, leading consumer technology companies, innovators driving the marketplace as well as all the other industries starting to cross-pollinate into digital health including the automotive, IoT, fitness and gaming.

DOCSF was created to bridge the worlds of digital health and clinical orthopedics and thereby catalyze the adoption of technology in musculoskeletal care. Why orthopedics? We believe that embedding digital technologies in a narrow integrated vertical is more likely to affect change than targeting one-fifth of the U.S. economy. We also believe that if a conference is to move the ball forward, it needs to target leaders who are positioned to drive change. These leaders want a conference that is practical, identifies solutions to real problems, and that provides perspective from people outside their normal circle. To this end, we invite Health Care, Industry, Finance, Entrepreneurs and Payers to participate.