In my future post-corona scenario; technology has completely taken over health care by it being digitalised and video gaming has become not only a way to cure disorders and illnesses but also hierarchise patients.
Healthcare costs and societal benefits become dependent on video gaming scores and choices made in-game.
The very first game approved by the FDA as a non-medicinal option for children with ADHD.
This shows an official step into the digitalisation of therapy. This also shows that gaming is being taken more seriously as a beneficial tool. It is an acknowledgement on a governmental scale, but it is also a door opening for governments and health care systems to dip their hands and have more control in the gaming industry.
FDA is trusted, and definitely by teens.
Showing how much an FDA approval could have an "endorsement" factor.
https://www.ccn.com/ideo-games-mental-health-reckoning-hellblade-ninja-theory/
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 was one of the first confirmed Xbox Series X exclusives this year!
The first game wasn't only a succes but it won an award from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
This game had changed the relationship between the gaming industry and mental health.
Ninja Theory, the game's studio took a different approach to create its hero Senua. The studio received a grant from healthcare firm Wellcome Trust, and it consulted with Paul Fletcher, a professor at Cambridge University who was a leading expert in psychosis. He became an adviser to the studio as it made the game.
This game actually led to the very first gaming industry's mental health event.
Eventhough this is older news, I thought it was important to show the quite recent initiative in the gaming industry to represent mental health.
Gaming and healthcare working hand in hand on a game opened a door showing a different approach of commercial games.
Commercial games are more and more looked at in the midst of the pandemic
“During the coronavirus pandemic, we have seen more people than ever before turn to video games and immersive technology to keep them entertained and to stay in touch with friends and family,” UK Minister for Digital and Culture Caroline Dinenage said in a statement. “These innovations can present challenges though as well as opportunities, which is why we are taking the necessary steps to protect users and promote the safe enjoyment of this dynamic industry.”
Sources:
"The U.S. Government is Prescribing Video Game Therapy For Children (Yes, Really)" by William Worrall, June 16 2020 6:38 PM UTC
https://www.ccn.com/the-u-s-government-is-prescribing-video-game-therapy-for-children-yes-really/
"Awareness and trust of the FDA and CDC: Results from a national sample of US adults and adolescents" bySarah D. Kowitt, Allison M. Schmidt, Anika Hannan,
Adam O. Goldstein
Published: May 16, 2017
Graph: "Fig 1. Weighted frequencies of key dependent variables, stratified by adults and youth."
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0177546
"Game industry’s first mental health event debuts in October" by DEAN TAKAHASHI, AUGUST 26, 2019 5:30 AM
https://venturebeat.com/2019/08/26/game-industrys-first-mental-health-event-debuts-in-october/
"UK government to collect evidence on video game loot boxes" by Sam Desatoff, June 8, 2020 10:59 AM
https://gamedaily.biz/article/1766/uk-government-to-collect-evidence-on-video-game-loot-boxes
"Game over for inequality in video gaming industry" by Jessica Carpani, 13 June 2020 7:00 PM
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/06/13/video-games-should-feature-diverse-characters-says-government/
"SA government invests in gaming sector" by Patrick James, JUNE 21 2020 11:50 AM
https://www.theleader.com.au/story/6800498/sa-government-invests-in-gaming-sector/?cs=9397
"Apple still has a lot of room to grow in the $3.5 trillion health care sector" by Christina Farr, JUN 20, 2020 9:15 AM EDT
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/20/apple-still-has-a-lot-of-room-to-grow-in-health-care.html
"Healthy.io, maker of a ‘medical selfie,’ is part of the new generation of Israeli health-tech companies" by Christina Farr, JUN 22, 2020 8:35 AM EDT
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/22/healthyio-is-part-of-new-generation-of-israeli-health-tech-companies.html
"Kaia Health Lands $26M to Expand AI-Driven Digital Therapeutics for MSK Conditions & COPD" by Fred Pennic, 06/19/2020
https://hitconsultant.net/2020/06/19/kaia-health-lands-26m-to-expand-ai-driven-digital-therapeutics/#.XvCDhy3M3EY
"Digital therapeutics company Proteus Digital Health files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy" by Heather Landi, Jun 16, 2020 5:00 PM
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/digital-medicine-company-proteus-digital-health-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy
"Quit-smoking app greenlighted as Japan's first digital therapeutic" by HIROMITSU GOTO, Nikkei staff writer June 20, 2020 04:59 JST
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Quit-smoking-app-greenlighted-as-Japan-s-first-digital-therapeutic
This shows to me that the government is paying more attention to video games during the pandemic it acknowledges its importance and influence and want to regulate it.
In this case it is about considering loot boxes in online games as gambling.
As the IGDA has said in the past, government intervention, such as what we’re seeing in the UK, is the inevitable next step when the games industry doesn’t self-regulate. If developers and publishers won’t voluntarily end predatory practices, the government will do it for them, and that’s not good for anyone.
This to me shows the intervening of the government for another reason than legal issues but rather ethical.
This goes to show that if we would be in this speculation, the ethical choices made in a multi-choice game would matter to the government.
The question wouldn't be "Are games representative enough?" for example, but rather "Is the population reacting to it the way they should?"
South Australia's government invests in gaming sector to "assist those working in the creative industries, and the nearly 40,000 who work in technology, defence, manufacturing, space, cyber, health and education."
The goal is to attract international studios and to level up to 3D visualisation and simulation technology.
SA wants to compete globally.
I picked this article as I wanted to show a governments vision in the gaming industry as an investment in not only the future of gaming in SA but an understanding of its impact in the sectors of different fields such as health.
There is an understanding of gaming belonging to the future as it represents technology.
At te same time, trillion dollar tech companies understand there is money and a future in the digitalising of health care.
« During the Covid-19 pandemic, Apple teamed up with Google to release contact tracing technology for mobile phones, which public health researchers can use to build apps to track exposure to the virus. The company has seen the most traction for that in Europe and Asia. »
The company has already announced partnerships with insurers, like Aetna, where users can “earn off” the cost of a device by engaging in healthy behaviors. It’s also talking to some private Medicare plans about subsidizing the cost of the device for seniors.
This article and tweet shows a tech company, Apple, expanding into health offering innovation and efficiency, but most importantly methods to collect data.
Companies understand the profit and power there is in health.
In this article, it came to my understanding that it is because of the pandemic that digital health care companies are on the rising, becoming the most attractive market for entrepreneurs.
Healthy.io is an example of a company from Israel who is now working with the U.S. healthcare system.
The pandemic has changed the way we'd handle our therapies and go to the doctor. Digitalising health offers safety regarding catching the virus but it also can replace the prescription of drugs.
On June the 9th it was stated in a hitconsultant.net article that Kaia Health landed 26million dollars to expand AI-driven digital therapeutics for MSK conditions & COPD.
Another example of a company's successful approach to digitalising health but more specifically "digital therapeutics".
Kaia Health’s world-leading smartphone-based 2D motion tracking solution named Motion Coach enables users to get real-time feedback on their exercise performance using their smartphone’s camera, which, when taken together with the platform’s psychological and educational support has been proven to outperform conventional therapy.
“Similar to the explosion we’ve seen in doctor to patient telehealth, the healthcare challenges arising from COVID has also highlighted the need for new care delivery models,” said Kaia Founder and President Konstantin Mehl.
I thought these two different reactions of the bankruptcy of Proteus Digital Health (another digital therapeutic) were interesting. It shows both, the ideological belief in such technology but also, the skepticism in the utility and most importantly the risk it can present.
The risk yet goal of these data collecting sensors and assisting apps is that there is higher monitoring of ones actions which can lead to consequences such as the one stated in this tweet.
This goes back to my initial problematic.
TOKYO -- An app to help people stop smoking received government approval Friday, becoming the first prescription digital therapeutic in Japan and heralding an emerging field of treatments developed at lower cost.
This example to me shows governments are open to digital therapy even concerning not an illness nor a disorder but a bad habit that has become an addiction, smoking.
Knowing how smoking can affect your insurance costs, if it had to fit my scenario I would believe the results of such an app could act as a "snitch" to insurance companies.