This is a guest post by Likitha Andugula, Marketing Analyst at Upshot.ai

With the advent of digital devices and technology, we have been accustomed to having everything at our fingertips, from food delivery to shopping to entertainment. Instant gratification has become a norm in today’s fast-paced world. And healthcare is no exception!

The pandemic has just accelerated this trend. Patients increasingly seek immediate solutions to their healthcare demands due to their hectic schedules and limited time. 

And that is when Healthcare 2.0 emerged, a new generation of smart apps that made healthcare accessible and affordable, delivering a journey towards quicker and quality healthcare. 

Thus, the need to improve patient experience in healthcare is rather paramount. And what better than gamification to create fun experiences that help patients stay motivated and engaged in improving their health?

Gamification in Healthcare

Gamification in healthcare is taking the core of what makes games fascinating and incorporating it into healthcare apps to motivate users to go after their health goals and achieve them.

Giving instant feedback in the form of rewards and showcasing progress and statistics with the help of progress bars is a great way to drive users toward habit-making. It shows the users they are on the right track and leading healthier lives. 

“Health is a habit” – Practo.

This instills the user’s motivation and positively changes their daily behaviors. Nonetheless, we humans tend to struggle to remain consistent but like to stay on top of all the charts, and gamification helps make these habits easier and fun to maintain.

Ways Gamification Can Improve Patient Experience

Gamification Tips to Boost User Engagement in Health Apps

We are all into instant gratification these days, and gamification is the best way to instantly give feedback through badges, points, leaderboards, and more.

Health apps have challenges, like losing motivation while finishing a task or maintaining a habit, lack of concentration while meditating, etc. And the best way to boost engagement and resolve challenges is by incorporating game elements into the app.

#1 Celebrate Progress to Reinforce Engagement with Progress Bars

Instant feedback is not just enough. Give your users the ability to track their progress as they succeed and move forward. 

A progress bar is the most effective way to show the progress of a particular task or habit. Users can see how far they are from reaching their goals. 

When sufficiently motivated, we tend not to leave things at hand unfinished, and the progress bar helps users complete a task and get rewarded at the end.

#2 Increase Loyalty with Reward programs

• Badges and Point Collection

Stickers and badges can be used to represent accomplishments that users can collect for each achievement towards better health, share among their friends and family, and add to their profiles.

Points are another progress indicator. Give the user points for every activity they perform on the app, which can collectively lead to a new reward or a level. 

• Rewards

Rewards work best if you want to retain and engage your users for a more extended period. Receiving something in return excites and encourages them to revisit your application and finish a task.

• Educate Users with Trivia and Quizzes

Trivia and short quizzes help users engage with your app in a fun and engaging way. These interactive quizzes not only boost engagement but also increase awareness around why you are performing a specific task or building a habit and how it can help you have a healthier life. This also creates a sense of achievement and productivity.

#3 Instill a sense of competition with Levels and Leaderboards

Game elements like levels and leaderboards can be used while developing a habit. Starting from the basics, which are as simple as drinking water or taking meds on time, and gradually increasing the level of difficulty as the users progress. 

This gradual increase in complexity while moving to higher levels gives the user a sense of development and improves their competence. 

Levels are the best indicators of how engaged your users are in your app. They can also unlock new challenges and rewards as they advance to the next level. 

This helps in long-term user engagement and retention. The higher the level, the more engaged the user is in getting healthier or fit.

These levels and leaderboards can be shared among users’ friends and family across social media platforms and within the app communities.

Apple, through its watch, delivers innovative features such as enabling users to get into workout sessions with friends and delivering customized workout routines and tutorials for its users.

#4 Empower users through Personalization 

Notifications are the most effective way of giving feedback to users to encourage positive user behavior. Sending personalized messages to prompt users when they complete a task, such as meditating or finishing their workout, is a great way to boost engagement. 

Curating personalized content and contextual learning is a great way to boost engagement. Every time a user achieves a milestone, you can suggest the next steps toward getting healthier by sending personalized notifications. This can be achieved by analyzing user behavior and segmenting them accordingly. 

Conclusion

The digital revolution is sweeping across all industries, and healthcare is certainly not immune. One effective way to motivate individuals to prioritize their health and embark on a journey toward a healthier life is through gamification.

But gamification in healthcare goes beyond simply offering badges and rewards. It provides users with accurate, comprehensive, personalized information and care. By doing so, they can make informed decisions about their healthcare and have a memorable and enjoyable experience while doing it. Ultimately, gamification has the ability to empower individuals to take charge of their health and lead a healthier life.

This is a guest post by Likitha Andugula, Marketing Analyst at Upshot.ai

About Likitha

Likitha is a content strategist and writer at Upshot.ai, and she has a passion for creating compelling content that engages readers. Beyond her professional endeavors, she loves watching movies, exploring new destinations, and trying new recipes.

Image by María_Alberto from Pixabay