In a post last week I outlined the trend of using “gamification” and mobile technology to solve real-world health problems. In summary, gamification is the practice of using gameplay mechanics in non-game applications, such as health apps that engage patients and assist them in managing chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. Gamification is becoming the next frontier in patient engagement. Healthcare organizations, and the patients they serve, can profit from this trend more now than ever before.
However, I think it is important to move beyond conversations about individual applications that assist patients in managing disease. What do I think the true challenge that gamifacation can solve is?
Interoperable records that take the burden of collecting and distributing health data away from the patient.
In the case of those managing chronic disease, they are often meeting with various clinicians depending on specialty and treatment protocol. The list is lengthy: primary care, oncology, labs, physical therapy. It often falls upon the patient to manage their health data. Those with chronic disease can be bounced around like pin balls collecting data from one provider to the next so that they can get the best care possible. This becomes patient as a manual ETL, and, in my opinion, it is unacceptable given the technologies that are available to solve this problem.
Instead, providers should be enabling patients by providing an engaging environment where they can interact with their data seamlessly and in a format they can understand. The objective should be to build a system that makes data collection seamless and secure. With their data in the palm of their hand, mobile technology can be used to help patients manage their chronic illness in partnership with their providers. All of this would happen through a joint partnership between physician and patient toward the ultimate goal of wellness.
Once health data is properly integrated and provided to the patient in mobile format, that information can then be integrated into disease management apps that engage the patient in managing their care. By balancing every day care with the engagement provided through mobile applications, patients are truly enabled in their care.
Picking up from where I left off in the previous post, Mashable highlights a number of tactics healthcare organizations can include in mobile communication with patients through gamification. Here are the five most commonly used mechanics in mobile applications:
- Points: Points are used in non-game apps as a way to denote achievement and work to keep the user motivated for the next reward or level. For example, Health Month uses points by asking users to set up weekly health-related goals and they receive points when they stick to those goals for an entire month. Each person starts with 10 “life points”. The player loses a point every time they break a rule, and the goal is to end the month with at least 1 life point. Friends can help the player “heal” and earn back points as well.
- Badges: Merit badges are often used as codes of honor in the gaming world that can also be used to unlock new levels.
- Levels: Levels can be used to make the more mundane tasks of every day maintenance more enticing. How often have I played the same level over and over again in order to unlock the next level just to know what’s beyond the next bend? It would be embarrassing to admit.
- Leaderboards: Leaderboards rank users and work to motivate and encourage them to become players. Patients often find an environment where they can engage with “patients like them” to be an integral part of treatment. Gamification can be a great way to help patients interact in a secure fashion.
- Challenges: Challenges can range from the simple to complex, and there are a number of ways this can be used to gamify patient experiences around chronic disease. In one example, I saw users compete for donations to their favorite charities and research foundations.
