Possible Benefits of Gamification for Improving Surgical Patients’ Quality of Care

Abstract

<p>This paper considers the potential benefits of gamification from the perspective of surgical patients’ quality of care. There is little published data on gamifying the work of healthcare professionals even though the use of serious games in healthcare has been growing. Literature on the quality of care shows that patients are often satisfied with the care they have received. However, research indicates that deficiencies exist in patient education, in patients’ opportunities to participate in and have impact on decision making regarding their care, and in prevention and management of complications. Workplace culture is significantly connected with the incidence of patient complications. Gamification of healthcare workers’ daily work routines could have positive effects on nurses’ ownership and the meaningfulness of their work, and on the prevention and management of complications, which would in turn improve the quality of care for surgical patients. In this paper, a hypothetical gamification case is presented and directions for future research are discussed.</p>