Pokémon Go Could Be Adapted For Healthcare

By now most people have heard of the new mobile phone game Pokémon Go. Pokémon Go uses cell phone GPS data to identify when you are in the mobile game and allow Pokémon characters to “magically appear” in areas around you (through your phone screen). As you move around, different types of Pokémon will appear for you to catch. The idea is to encourage players to travel around their geographic location in order to catch Pokémon.

            This game provides a glimpse into an approaching next wave of personal wellness and patient engagement applications that will likely incorporate augmented reality into the mainstream consciousness and imagination.

            Augmented reality games provide a twist on geocaching. I have gone on geocaching trips with my kids and generally enjoyed the pleasure of getting eaten alive by mosquitoes while looking under every rock within a quarter mile for a box filled with a couple of dirty action figures. I did this voluntarily as it was one of the many ways to increase physical activity and get my kids engaged.

            Augmented reality games, such as Pokémon-go have showed innovation for the virtual world and mobile computing. These type of games have the ability to be a better option for the future of computing over virtual reality.  If instances of augmented reality games utilize gaming to create interest, a game could be created to encourage physical movement to complete tasks. As time progresses we may see a rush to capitalize on augmented reality now that an application has shown how it can be integrated into our daily lives.

            The potential implications in healthcare and medicine of these mobile phone games can provide a number of new avenues for keeping people healthy using augmented reality techniques.

            This game model for making achievements while playing a mobile game creates a new model to help drive activity of people who are sedentary. I have already recognized the short-term sea change of activity in my children playing augmented reality games on their mobile phones.  Although being fully immersed in virtual reality poses a small threat that may remove people from reality and create a fear in society of living without augmentation. We have a need to keep physically moving but games have traditionally kept us stationary. Currently, I try do it by walking to work while listening to audio books on my phone. I’d be happy to find new ways, maybe games, more tuned to adult wellness and interests, to spend more time outdoors. If I am engaged in an augmented reality experience, I could spend time in foreign cities when travelling and enjoy exploring the location.

            It may not be the most exciting healthcare application, but way finding is still a big challenge in hospitals. New technologies such as Bluetooth beacons and Wi-Fi tracking allow patients to navigate through a large complex space like a hospital. By adding augmented reality we can both help patients be active in their care and also better understand how their care is working. A clever developer can make being in a hospital feel more like a game to encourage behaviors that can lead to shorter lengths of stay.

            For children and patients, adding creative experiences to a hospital visit may help to reduce the anxiety, discomfort, and boredom during a long hospital experience. Indeed, some children's hospitals are actually using Pokémon Go as a way to get them moving after medical procedures.

            For physicians and administrators, an augmented reality view of the hospital can help to identify issues that need resolution such as viewing through a mobile phone where locations with high infections rates are, rooms with higher or lower utilization, and other facility related information.

            Having the ability to pair the intelligence of mobile computing with the images on the screen can help provide information to patients in an entertaining and useful way. A number of patient advocacy groups have designed such games that show how medication compliance impacts risk in diseases. Using a detailed game to show the actual body with a ‘look inside’ view can be impactful in helping to communicate the risks of patient behaviors in adherence and high risks.

Dan Housman is a director with the healthcare practice of Deloitte Consulting. A version of this article originally appeared on The Health Care Blog.