There are lots of good ideas and tips around health promotion, aimed at improving public health. The challenge is with getting the public and healthcare workers to full engage with the process. One answer could be gamification, which is the process of utilizing game elements to systems in order to boost a user’s motivation and satisfaction. This is the idea behind the project between Japan’s Astellas Pharma and the universities (Tokyo University of the Arts and Yokohama City University).
According to PharmaPhorum different concepts will be tested out at a new Health Mock Lab, which is designed to function as ‘a virtual framework for industry-academia collaboration’. This includes mixing elements of art and design, plus animation and interactive media, with science and medicine.
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Astellas refers to this as the development of ‘Rx+TM(1)’ programs, a process that will draw upon experiences from the company’s prescription drug business together with technology and knowledge acquired different fields.
With the Health Mock Lab, the parties with assess and develop ideas, examining them against three criteria: medical, gamification and business. Areas that tick all three boxes will be selected for practical application. The next phase will involve research and development. This will be followed by the production of prototypes and then demonstration tests.
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The idea of taking digital health solutions an adding a gamification element has been gaining interest among health tech providers. Areas under consideration are with helping patients to stick to taking their doses of medicine on time or with assessing satisfaction ratings with users of health services (as with the U.K. National Health Service).
