Playing to Heal: 15 Successful Gamification Cases Transforming Healthcare Behaviors

Nowadays, many people have begun to track their daily step counts, using exercise-earned points to grow virtual plants, deeply captivated by the allure of gamification. Gamified applications, devices, and therapeutic approaches will permeate every aspect of the healthcare sector in the future, making everything simpler and more engaging. In this article,VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat)An analysis of the challenges and benefits of gamification in the healthcare industry, along with a detailed compilation of 15 successful case studies.

Whether it’s exercise, diet, reading, or work, many people around us constantly make resolutions only to repeatedly disrupt their own plans. Why is it so difficult to form new habits?

Jurriaan van Rijswijk, Chairman of the European Healthcare Gaming Foundation and gamification expert, believes thatMotivation is merely one factor in the process of behavior change, whereas adherence is an issue often overlooked by many. The frequent causes of long-term behavior change failure are often related to cost and time constraints.

Therefore, it is advisable to begin exercising within the constraints of limited resources and technology, rather than initially spending money on athletic apparel, accessories, or expensive equipment. Gradually, as the new behavior proves its value, individuals will be more willing to dedicate valuable time to maintaining this habit.

The key to successful behavior change lies in time commitment or adherence; while both are challenging, they can also be made simpler. People require encouragement from various sources: a sense of community and social connection; the achievement of goals and receipt of rewards; competition with others; witnessing data-driven changes resulting from small wins; and an enjoyable, engaging process.

Technology can integrate all of these elements, serving as a tool to liberate resources and help us devote more time to our objectives.

Games can capture and hold our attention, tap into our inner strength, fully engage us, and compel us to enhance our adaptability in the process of acquiring more powerful and effective skills. This is why many people believe that gamification plays a crucial role in driving behavior change within the healthcare sector.

Games are far more than just automated collectors and alert systems for vital signs. Gamified services engage us, provide continuous motivation, and help us navigate the challenging process of behavioral change; they act not only as a supportive companion but also assume the role of a caring parent. This is why people believe that gamified solutions can spread through the healthcare sector like an epidemic. However, it is exceedingly difficult to design digital tools that serve as sources of motivation without becoming burdensome constraints or a “digital whip.”

In 2016, Fitbit announced that it was partnering with select employers, enabling companies to use Fitbit devices to track employee records and collect data for the purpose of monitoring employees’ health habits.

Several companies have introduced Fitbit as a “corporate health tracker,” aiming to engage employees with fun and incentivized group challenges and competitions. In an interview, Adam Pellegrini, Vice President of Digital Health for Fitbit, stated that Houston Methodist previously held a month-long step-count competition within the company, allowing employees to compete against their department heads. During the event, employees averaged 16,000 steps per day! Now that’s a real challenge!

But imagine that your boss not only knows your fitness goals and can see your data, but also shares this data with health insurance companies to determine your insurance premiums. Consider further that, despite your diligent efforts to lose weight, your employer still deems them insufficient… Where, then, are the boundaries of such incentive tools? How far should employers and health insurance companies be allowed to go in intervening in the health or fitness matters of their employees or users? These complex and challenging issues urgently need to be addressed.

As mentioned above, game design is actually a very challenging field,A report by Accenture Consulting summarizes seven critical factors behind gamification:

1. User Identity

Gamers typically seek recognition from other members of the community, so gamified services must ensure that players’ identities are reinforced.

2. Game Levels

Levels are the essence of a game, enabling users to unlock new experiences through accumulated achievements, which is crucial for maintaining player engagement.

3. Competition

Good game design needs to provide users with a platform for competition and sharing achievements, thereby maintaining their engagement. Moreover, it also requires some reward mechanisms.

4. Rankings

Visualizing progress and rankings enables users to track their performance and compare themselves with others, thereby deepening their competitive experience, encouraging them to perform better in the future, and motivating them to return to the platform continuously to achieve higher rankings.

5. Social Connections

People often start playing a particular game due to their friends’ preferences; therefore, successful gamification requires fostering a strong sense of community.

6. Immersive Sense of Reality

Through exquisite interface design, well-crafted gamified applications can immerse users in virtual reality.

7. Personalization

Personalized services enable users to gain a sense of ownership through self-expression.

A recent study examined the impact of Pokémon Go. Shortly after the release of this creature-collecting game, there was considerable enthusiasm, with signs suggesting that it could encourage users to increase their outdoor physical activity. During the first week of playing, the average daily step count of Pokémon Go players rose from 4,256 to 5,123. However, thereafter, their average daily steps gradually declined, returning to baseline levels by the sixth week. This pattern of change did not differ across other demographic distributions, such as neighborhood walkability, income level, and age. These findings indicate that successful gamification is no simple feat.

Nevertheless, excellent apps and services that provide motivation and rewards to reinforce determination still exist. If we acknowledge the fact that these tools are effective only when users participate voluntarily and are self-motivated, they can indeed help us achieve remarkable goals.

The following are some well-known game-based digital technologies in the healthcare industry.

Fitbit & Co

In 2007, Fitbit founders Eric and James recognized that the advanced development of sensor and wireless technologies could deliver superior experiences in the health and fitness sector. They embarked on a research and development journey, ultimately creating wearable devices capable of transforming the way we move. Through Fitbit’s community interface, users can participate in shared challenges; these competitions motivate individuals to better achieve their exercise goals and increase their daily step counts. Furthermore, Fitbit employs distinct algorithms for different types of physical activity, thereby providing more precise measurements of user performance.

EveryMove

Founded in 2011, EveryMove is an incentive-based health management platform dedicated to empowering more people to lead active and healthy lifestyles. The platform leverages users’ competitive spirit by collecting data from wearable trackers and mobile applications currently in use, then displaying this information within a community where friends can engage in friendly competition. Users may choose to share this data with insurance companies or other health organizations to receive corresponding rewards.

Blue Shield California

Blue Shield of California is a nonprofit health insurance company dedicated to enhancing the enjoyment of physical fitness through social media. Users can earn points, badges, and status levels, while also tracking their progress. Blue Shield of California reports that 80% of its employees participated in the program, which reduced the smoking rate by 50%. The company’s net income in 2016 was $67 million.

CaféWell

CaféWell, a social health management platform under Welltok, a developer of health management applications, undertakes initiatives similar to its health programs. It is dedicated to providing guidance and support for individuals seeking to lead healthier lives. Through its personalized programs, the company addresses each user’s unique needs, helping them eat more nutritiously, engage in more physical activity, reduce stress, or go the extra mile.

Pact

Pact, a U.S.-based mobile health company that originated as a Harvard student startup and once garnered endorsements from prominent angel investors, has announced it will cease operations at the end of August. Despite five years of product operation, the company failed to achieve any significant breakthroughs. This month, Pact notified its users of the impending shutdown. The app tracked fitness progress on mobile devices, requiring members who failed to meet their self-set fitness goals to pay those who successfully achieved theirs. The concept was straightforward: if laziness meant losing your hard-earned money, you would likely think twice before slacking off.

Mango Health

Mango Health was founded in San Francisco in February 2012 by Gerald Cheong and Jason Oberfest. On July 31 of the same year, it secured $1.5 million in seed funding from investors including Keith Rabois, Mark Pincus, Baseline Ventures, First Round, and FLOODSTAGE. Mango Health developed a smartphone application designed to encourage patients to adhere to their medication schedules. Users can pre-set their medication times, and the app sends reminders at those specified intervals. It also provides drug information and issues warnings regarding potential drug interactions and side effects. Users who successfully take their medications on time earn points, which can be redeemed for gift cards or charitable donation vouchers.

Didget

Bayer’s Didget glucose meter connects to the Nintendo DS gaming platform and is specifically designed for children aged 4 to 14. It rewards children who consistently monitor their blood glucose levels, thereby helping them manage their diabetes symptoms. As points accumulate, new game levels and options are unlocked; children with the highest scores appear on leaderboards. The glucose meter also features web-based games and an online community.

mySugr

The Australian startup mySugr has developed highly engaging, gamified solutions for diabetes management tailored to both children (mySugr Junior) and adults. As the creator of the charming “diabetes monster,” mySugr now boasts over one million registered users across 52 countries, with its platform available in 13 different languages. The company was recently acquired by the global pharmaceutical giant Roche. Under the terms of the agreement, mySugr will continue to operate as an independent legal entity while serving as the cornerstone of Roche Diabetes Care’s patient-centric digital health services. In return, Roche’s global presence will pave the way for mySugr’s international expansion.

Children often struggle to grasp the importance of treatments or medications for their health, focusing instead on the immediate discomfort of taking medicine. Therefore, gamified healthcare solutions targeted at children are particularly crucial. Children do not want to swallow bitter pills, eat more vegetables, undergo treatment, or stay in hospitals. Gamification can help children forget that they are receiving treatment or medication. If they can be led to believe that they are swallowing long-lost civilizational codes along with their medicine, and that only their gut bacteria can decipher these codes, they will readily take any medication.

Monster Guard

In October 2014, the American Red Cross developed a mobile application called Monster Guard to help children prepare for emergency situations. Through the “Monster Guard Academy,” the app teaches children how to stay safe during home fires, hurricanes, floods, and other disasters, allowing them to earn points by completing tasks. With the aid of gamification, it becomes easier to encourage children to pay attention to their physical health and maintain regular exercise.

LeapBand and Vivofit Jr.

Both LeapBand and Vivofit Jr. encourage children to maintain regular physical activity. The LeapBand, a smartwatch for children produced by LeapFrog, a manufacturer of educational electronic devices, helps kids develop healthy habits and stay active by allowing them to “care for” virtual pets. Garmin’s Vivofit Jr., designed specifically for children, tracks their step count, sleep patterns, and the recommended 60 minutes of daily activity. Upon completing exercise goals, children can redeem pre-agreed rewards, while parents can monitor their child’s steps and activity time, assign tasks, and distribute these virtual rewards. In this way, children’s playtime becomes more meaningful.

SCI Hard

SCI Hard was developed by the University of Michigan in the United States between 2010 and 2013, supported by a development grant from the Institute for Rehabilitation Research. After sustaining severe physical injuries or suffering a stroke, even performing movements or activities at a minimally functional level independently can be extremely difficult and time-consuming. The average person cannot fathom how to face every challenge in daily life after waking up from an accident. The SCI Hard application helps patients navigate this predicament. Gamified therapy not only makes the rehabilitation process more enjoyable and each activity engaging, but also distracts patients from pain.

Reflexion Health

Reflexion Health is a digital health company dedicated to transforming traditional pharmacotherapy and improving clinical outcomes. Built on technology developed by the West Health Institute, the company provides valuable, patient-centered, and cost-effective healthcare services to patients. The West Health Investment Fund became the company’s lead investor in 2016, having previously invested $4.25 million in 2012 and provided an additional $7.5 million in funding in 2014. Reflexion Health utilizes a video feedback system to correct exercise-based physical therapy regimens, enabling patients to receive treatment at home. Specific therapeutic movements are demonstrated by animated characters. The motion guidance technology compares patients’ movements with standard benchmarks and provides corresponding instructional feedback and corrective recommendations.

GestureTek Health

Canadian company GestureTek Health, founded in 1986, invented video motion control technology and is regarded as one of the origins of the VR field. Its pioneering technology has been used by Sony, Microsoft, Hasbro, Disney, and Coca-Cola. GestureTek Health has developed a series of applications focused on health, disability, and rehabilitation. The company’s touch-free, gesture-controlled virtual reality therapeutic methods, along with multisensory stimulation and immersive experiences, enable patients to have fun while exercising their physical and cognitive abilities.

MindMaze

Swiss medical virtual reality unicorn MindMaze recently brought its VR healthcare system to the United States and has now acquired Gait Up, a motion-tracking analytics company, for an undisclosed sum. MindMaze leverages virtual reality, brain imaging, and gaming technologies to rehabilitate stroke patients, with applications also proving effective for individuals with spinal cord injuries and amputations. The company’s groundbreaking platform humanizes virtual reality by harnessing the power of neuroscience and machine learning to address complex clinical challenges. Additionally, MindMaze collaborates with healthcare and entertainment companies to explore how brain-computer interfaces can deepen human-machine interaction.

In the medical field, the term “medication adherence” is used to describe the extent to which patients comply with their treatment regimens. However, as patients become increasingly autonomous, this terminology appears progressively inappropriate, as it seems to presuppose that “patients will blindly and involuntarily follow doctors’ orders.” On the contrary, patients are willing to actively participate in managing their own health and seek a more equitable doctor-patient relationship. Contrary to the assumptions embedded in the concept of “medication adherence,” they aim to sustain their motivation over the long term. In the future, supported by digital health, gamification in healthcare can help motivated patients maintain their treatment regimens without undue burden.