Game on: 7 Ways gamification redefines healthcare

In recent years, gamification has emerged as a powerful tool for transforming various industries, making tasks more engaging, and motivating users to achieve their goals. Applying gamification principles to healthcare is no exception. By integrating game mechanics and elements into healthcare experiences, we can revolutionize patient engagement, improve treatment adherence, promote healthy lifestyle choices, reduce anxiety, foster health education, enhance healthcare provider training, and facilitate data collection for research purposes. In this blog, we will explore seven ways gamification can redefine healthcare experiences and lead to better patient outcomes.

1. Enhancing patient engagement - 

Healthcare experiences can often feel dull and monotonous for patients, leading to disengagement and lack of motivation to actively participate in their care. Gamification introduces a fun and interactive aspect to medical processes, encouraging patients to take a more active role in managing their health. By incorporating game mechanics like points, badges, and leaderboards, healthcare apps and platforms can create a sense of achievement and competition among patients. This can lead to increased engagement and adherence to treatment plans.

For example, a diabetes management app might reward patients with points for consistently monitoring their blood glucose levels and taking prescribed medications. These points could unlock virtual rewards or provide discounts on health-related products, incentivizing patients to stay on top of their health.

2. Improving adherence to treatment plans -

One of the significant challenges in healthcare is ensuring patients follow their prescribed treatment plans diligently. Gamification can play a vital role in improving treatment adherence by making the process more enjoyable and rewarding. Through a gamified approach, patients receive instant feedback and rewards for following their treatment regimen, leading to a sense of accomplishment and motivation to continue.

Moreover, incorporating progress tracking and setting achievable goals within a gamified healthcare app can help patients visualize their journey towards better health. Regularly meeting targets and witnessing progress can significantly boost patients' confidence and adherence to their treatment plans.

3. Promoting healthy lifestyle choices - 

Unhealthy lifestyle choices contribute to a plethora of health issues. Gamification can serve as a catalyst for promoting healthy behaviors and encouraging patients to make positive changes in their lives. Health and fitness apps can employ gamified features like daily challenges, virtual competitions, and community support to engage users in maintaining active lifestyles, eating nutritious foods, and managing stress effectively.

For instance, a fitness app may challenge users to complete a certain number of steps every day and reward them with virtual medals or access to exclusive content upon successful completion. By tapping into the innate human desire for achievement and recognition, gamification can inspire long-term lifestyle changes.

4. Reducing anxiety and stress in patients - 

Medical settings, especially for those with chronic conditions or undergoing invasive procedures, can trigger anxiety and stress. Gamification offers a way to distract patients from their fears and discomfort by creating immersive experiences that transport them to virtual worlds.

Virtual reality (VR) games, for instance, can serve as a valuable tool to ease patients' nerves during medical procedures. By immersing patients in a calming and enjoyable environment, VR can reduce anxiety levels and even alleviate pain perception.

In a child-friendly initiative, we created a game called Dino Safari that helps alleviate children's anxiety during blood draws. The collection of mini games, including Bubble Blast and Fin's Quest, provides a distraction during hospital visits, with touch and tracker mechanics for easy understanding.

5. Fostering health education and health literacy - 

Health education is essential for empowering patients to make informed decisions about their health. However, traditional methods of health education can be dry and less engaging. Gamification can inject excitement into learning by transforming educational modules into interactive experiences.

Gamified health apps can present medical information through quizzes, interactive simulations, and storytelling, making the learning process more enjoyable and accessible. By turning education into an entertaining challenge, patients are more likely to retain information and increase their health literacy.

A multinational pharmaceutical company wanted to promote antimicrobial stewardship and educate frontline healthcare providers on the best practices in infection control, we designed a game that accounted for their different approaches to solving problems and adhering to protocol. Players had to choose between guiding a character to follow the best practices or allowing a lapse in protocol. Participation in the game enabled HCPs to understand and engage with the consequences of their choices. 

6. Enhancing healthcare provider training - 

Gamification not only benefits patients but also has the potential to enhance healthcare provider training. Medical simulations and virtual patient scenarios can be integrated into training programs, allowing healthcare professionals to practice various skills and decision-making processes in a risk-free environment.

These gamified training modules provide a hands-on experience, enabling healthcare providers to refine their abilities and gain confidence. Additionally, real-time feedback and performance metrics can help identify areas for improvement, ensuring that healthcare professionals are better prepared to handle diverse medical situations.

7. Facilitating data collection and research - 

Collecting data for medical research can be a cumbersome process. Gamification can offer an innovative approach to encourage patients to participate actively in data collection for research purposes. By transforming data collection into a game-like experience, patients are more likely to provide accurate and consistent information.

Health-related games can collect valuable data on patient behaviors, preferences, and treatment outcomes, providing researchers with valuable insights. Moreover, this approach can significantly reduce the burden on researchers, accelerate data acquisition, and contribute to medical advancements.

To enhance engagement among HCPs we created a dramatized web series to educate HCPs about resistant infections and how can it be solved with molecular diagnostics. We created an OTT Platform specifically for the client to stream the web series for their organization. We incorporated the use of gamification, in which we encouraged HCPs to engage in making decisions throughout the series via quizzes.

Conclusion

Gamification has the potential to reshape healthcare experiences by enhancing patient engagement, improving treatment adherence, promoting healthy lifestyles, reducing anxiety, fostering health education, enhancing healthcare provider training, and facilitating data collection for research. By tapping into our innate desire for achievement, competition, and enjoyment, gamification can motivate individuals to take charge of their health and well-being actively. As technology continues to evolve, the integration of gamification in healthcare will likely become even more sophisticated, leading to better patient outcomes and a positive shift in the way we approach healthcare. As we move forward, it is crucial to embrace gamification responsibly and ethically, ensuring that it enhances healthcare experiences without compromising patient privacy or safety.

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