By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    headphones can create health problems
    The Harmful Health Effects of Using Headphones
    September 24, 2021
    Headache causes
    4 Causes Of Headache You Probably Didn’t Know About
    December 28, 2021
    follow these steps to recover from your injury
    What Steps Should You Take to Recover More Quickly from an Injury?
    April 12, 2022
    Latest News
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    private
    Private Exchanges: Getting Ready for Individual Health Insurance to Be the Standard
    January 9, 2014
    valueable healthcare programs
    5 Most Valuable Healthcare Programs in 2023
    March 8, 2023
    Johnson & Johnson to Release Clinical Trial Data in Agreement with Yale Medical School
    February 4, 2014
    Latest News
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: How is Gaming Changing the Landscape in Health Care? Part 1 | Fabio Gratton, Ignite Health
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Public Health > How is Gaming Changing the Landscape in Health Care? Part 1 | Fabio Gratton, Ignite Health
BusinessNewsPublic Health

How is Gaming Changing the Landscape in Health Care? Part 1 | Fabio Gratton, Ignite Health

Barbara Ficarra
Barbara Ficarra
Share
9 Min Read
SHARE

 

Health care industry insiders answer the question:

“How is gaming changing the landscape in health care?”

 

More Read

healthcare marketing with video
YouTube Overview: 12 Helpful Tips About Using Video Sharing in Healthcare Marketing
Myths About Continuing Care Retirement Communities
Is Easy-to-Understand Health Insurance Even Possible?
Why Dental Offices Need a Custom Mobile Application?
Why the Individual Mandate Is Important

Health care industry insiders answer the question:

“How is gaming changing the landscape in health care?”

First, Fabio Gratton, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Ignite Health says, “gamifying health care is not a silver bullet,” and in Part 2, Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, Founder and Director of the Center for Connected Health says that we have a long way to go to change the mindset of health care providers and consumers.  In Part 3, Bill Crounse, MD, Senior Director, Worldwide Health Microsoft Corporation says gaming is another way to engage consumers in their health.  Additionally, in Part 4, I will offer my take on how gaming is changing the landscape in health care.

Fabio Gratton, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Ignite Health

Q: How is gaming helping to change the landscape in health care?

A: Let’s be honest with ourselves: a large majority of messages related to health and health care are tedious, dense, confusing, and boring – and no amount of “dumbing-down” for the health-illiterati can compensate for the sleeping mind. While the gaming industry is far from perfect, they have at least figured out some of the secret ingredients of engagement.

A good indicator of that is the fact that by the time the average person reaches the age of 21 they have already spent more than 10,000 hour playing video games (Prensky, 2003).  It’s time we face the music: if health care were a game, it would be the worst game ever.  So it should come as no surprise that most people aren’t playing, and those that are, are losing.

Games and the underlying mechanics that make games engaging and fun are bound to have a dramatic impact on almost every aspect of business and life — and nowhere will this be felt more than in health care.

When you look at it simply from the perspective of “health games”, and by that I mean an experience that is deliberately designed to look, feel, and act like what we have come to expect from popular games such as Monopoly, Tetris, or Call of Duty, there is a huge opportunity to captivate and engage a world of people who regularly “tune out” the hundreds, if not thousands, of educational messages parents, teachers, and society are trying to doll out in barrels on a daily basis.

Sesame Street got the memo 50 years ago, yet despite a few occasional moments of inspired brilliance in the edutainment revolution (e.g., The LeapPad, Where is Carmen San Diego?, and SimCity to name a few), the format and channel for engaging people and driving behavior change has not kept pace with mass consumer adoption of technology and thirst for transmedia story-driven interactivity.

Don’t misunderstand – “gamifying” health care is not a silver bullet. The act of improving healthcare can and should be approached from many different angles.  What is rather surprising however is that while our understanding of disorders and diseases has evolved exponentially — and with that, the scientific breakthroughs to address them — our ability as a society to engage with those who need the science to live longer has not kept up.

Ironically, those who need it the most are the ones who don’t know it, don’t understand it, and don’t care.  And while direct to consumer health care advertising, mass media, and the Internet have dramatically increased the sheer volume of information and people’s access to it – these advances have done relatively little to actually create knowledge and transform behavior.

If school systems were to do nothing else but weave health-related content into game-driven experiences I am confident we would see a dramatic rise in the percentage of people who actually listen, learn, and retain information.  Don’t take my word for it. There are literally hundreds of studies that support this statement; of course, most of these studies are looking at education through the broader lens of primary and secondary school systems, which, of course, are focused on antiquated models of subject-based learning.  However, there have also been numerous studies examining how games impact health education in diseases like diabetes, cancer, and blood disorders – and the results have been remarkably on par with those of their non-healthcare counterparts.

There are still many challenges involved in understanding which of the many aspects of games is most effective, relevant, and impactful on game-driven health learning— and for every challenge there are dozens of equally compelling theories.  Is it the combination of sight, sound, and motion?  Is it the interactivity?  Is the time-tested game mechanics that create urgency, boost self-esteem, and provide a continuous feedback loop of positive reinforcement via reward points and incentives? Or perhaps the answer is really much more foundational than that: maybe the brain of today’s average adult – a brain that grew up on Atari and Gameboy – has changed to such a degree that systems that are not gamified simply no longer work?

Obviously, this entire area requires a more in-depth study; but either way, the facts are clear: health care education has the chance to be far more effective when you introduce game elements into the mix.  Be assured, no one is saying that being sick is fun.  It’s not.  But that should be all the more reason why the health care experience shouldn’t be sickening too.

About Fabio Gratton

Fabio Gratton is the Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Ignite Health, one of the leading digital health care agencies in the US. During his 14-year career in digital marketing Fabio has worked with some of the largest pharmaceutical and medical device companies in the world– including Medtronic, Merck, Pfizer, Roche, Genentech, Bausch & Lomb, and Abbott. Along the way Fabio (a self-described gadget-geek, hard-cord gamer, and movie-junky) has helped create a ground-breaking, award-winning animated series for people living with HIV, created the first sim-style game for children living with diabetes, and led the unprecedented FDASM movement — an online twitter-fueled initiative that brought together agencies and pharmaceutical companies to discuss, debate, and share ideas regarding the impending FDA guidelines on the use of the Internet and social media.

Ignite Health
Follow Fabio on Twitter @skypen

Your turn

We would love for you to share your insightful thoughts and comments.  “How is Gaming Changing the Landscape in Health Care?”

As always, thank you for your valuable time.

Connect with me | Stay in touch

Follow Barbara on Twitter
Visit Barbara on Facebook
Like Healthin30
Connect with Barbara on Linkedin

Next up

Part 2, Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, Founder and Director of the Center for Connected Health answers the question, “How is Gaming Changing the Landscape in Health Care?”

TAGGED:gamification
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

engineer fitting prosthetic arm
How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
Health care
August 20, 2025
a woman explaining the document
How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
Public Health
August 20, 2025
physiotherapist at work
How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
Health care
August 20, 2025
Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs
7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
Health News
August 20, 2025

You Might also Like

Health Care Business Models in Transition Open Doors for Connected Health

March 1, 2014

The 5 Biggest Challenges Healthcare Leaders are Facing in 2015

August 5, 2015

Making Patients With Devices Less Dependent on Doctors

August 15, 2012
Close-up,Of,A,Person's,Hand,Holding,Ribbon,To,Support,Alzheimer's
HealthNews

More Effective Treatment for Early Alzheimer’s on the Horizon

January 3, 2023
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?