Hospital Drives Clinical Excellence With Gamification

By Ken Congdon

Inova Fairfax Medical Center is using a mobile, game-based platform to improve the continuing medical education of its clinical staff.

In healthcare circles, the term “gamification” most generally brings to mind images of patients leveraging Xbox Kinect-type programs to aid in physical rehabilitation or treatment. However, healthcare providers are finding that games just don’t deliver value at the patient level — clinicians can also benefit from game-based technology solutions. Inova Fairfax Medical Center (IFMC) is a perfect case in point. The Virginia-based provider recently applied a mobile, game-based technology program in its new Advanced Surgical Technology and Education Center (ASTEC) to improve the clinical knowledge of its interdisciplinary OR team.