Working with Mayo as a development
partner would be a rigorous undertaking,
Dole adds. “Much like the drug develop-
ment process, we must ask the questions:
How effective is this game? What are the
health outcomes associated with engage-
ment? We would want to measure with
clinical trials. That’s how Mayo would get
into this space.”
Mayo is already doing some experi-
mental work with embedded sensors—a
characteristic of some movement games.
“Mayo sent a team to Mount Everest em-
bedded with sensors, and engaged them
in games and tests along the journey to
collect cognitive and physiological data,”
Dole notes. “Some of that could look like
a game. We are not developing games
now, but can pull from game mechan-
ics and gamification elements in these
experiences. There are explicit game me-
chanics I am tapping into without calling
it a game.”
Dole says that, given documented
clinical value, physicians might one day
prescribe games “as adjuncts to other in-
terventions. We don’t see that today, but
that reality is not that far off.”
Drawing power
For many observers, health games have
an undeniable appeal. For Ken Klein-
berg, managing director, applications
and technology, at Washington, D.C.-
based research firm The Advisory Board
Company, it boils down to human na-
ture. To Kleinberg, the term “games” may
sound trivial. “But think about Weight
Watchers or AA, where people chal-
lenge each other to get better,” he says.
“People are watching. The effects of your
work are acknowledged. The gaming ap-
proach takes advantage of this competi-
tive nature. That will be very empower-
ing for patients. Games tap into strong
characteristics people have.”
For Dole, health games could help
plug the compliance gap for patients—
particularly those with chronic condi-
tions. And that is where the financial
benefit may rest—albeit quietly for now.
“Games show you can engage people in
a task,” he says. “They look like adjuncts
to therapies.”
Lieberman, the director of Health
Games Research, says interactive soft-
ware platforms like the Wii have caught
on simply because they fun to use. That’s
why some physical therapy clinics are
beginning to incorporate off-the-shelf
versions of the Wii Fit and similar games
to use as part of their in-house therapy.
Prior to joining the University of Cali-
fornia Santa Barbara, Lieberman herself
helped develop a diabetes self-manage-
ment game for Click Health, a Mountain
View, Calif.-based company where she
served as vice president of research from
1993 to 1999. Designed for the Nintendo
platform, the video game “reduced the
stigma of diabetes for children,” she says.
“It showed daily self-care, taking insulin
and selecting the right foods.” The game
went through a clinical trial that showed
how its utilization significantly reduced
urgent care ED visits, she recalls. “That
was the basis of the business model,” she
says. “Cost savings.”
The question of whether health games
can drive enhanced outcomes and by ex-
tension, lower health care costs, remains
open. For the commercial entertainment
industry, game economics are pretty
straightforward, says Falstein, the design-
er and consultant. “If a game is designed
for pure entertainment, you make it fun
and if it makes money, you’re all set. Seri-
ous games have a purpose beyond enter-
tainment. You are looking to build a tool
that gets people engaged.”
Falstein says health games fall into four
main categories, each of which sports its
own performance measures—or potential
measures, as the field is still nascent.
