Medical companies and providers are using a mobile gamification tool to educate staff on new protocols and to boost retention of old protocols.
The mHealth program, devised by a Harvard Medical School startup, quizzes users through a smartphone app or website and is in play at 14 the top 15 global pharma companies, seven of the 10 top tier medical device companies and several health systems, according to an mHealth Intelligence article.
The quiz tool can be tweaked to focus content on a specific issue or medical ailment and quizzes are sent to users several times in a span of seven to 14 days. It can be taken by employees individually or in a team dynamic.
'[Employees are] getting a lot of information all the time, and they're always on the go," Jeffrey Wright, clinical research coordinator at Inova Fairfax Medical Center, told mHealth Intelligence. He said the organization uses the tool as a training program for its residents, and that it helps Inova see how well its training its future workforce.
Mobile gaming apps have been cited as the next prescription for reducing stress and anxiety, according to recent research published in the Association for Psychological Science. Physician technologist, Joseph Kim, M.D., recently said that gaming strategies could have a much wider range of benefits including boosting patients' motivation levels and providing patients with updates on how they're progressing in terms of a healthy lifestyle.
The quiz tool's repetitive nature and gaming approach are proving effective, added Wright, who sees value in using it in areas such as in-service education.
"We're constantly brainstorming ways to make the most of our educational time," he said.
For more information:
- read the mHealth Intelligence article
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