Gamifying health improvement programs makes compliance fun

Patient noncompliance with prescribed medication or recommended health plans threatens recovery and health improvement programs all too often. According to a Johns Hopkins University study of adherence and health care costs, between 25% and 50% of patients do not adhere to medication prescription directions. The annual cost of medication nonadherence results in hundreds of billions of dollars in extra healthcare costs every year. Employers, health organizations and others experience similar high noncompliance rates. Even with employer-paid incentives for improving their health, many employees don’t stick with healthy regimens.

SidekickHealth, founded by Harvard and MIT guest lecturer Tryggvi Thorgeirsson, uses gamification to frame wellness programs as fun ways for employees to improve their health. According to the company, SidekickHealth platform participants have 30% lower dropout rates and are three times more likely to reach 5% weight-loss goals.

Read the article at HealthTech Insider.

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