Greetings from Games for Health 2008

My head is spinning!  There is so much going on here!  The fourth annual Games for Health Conference  held in Baltimore, MD is all made possible by the deep pockets of our friends at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio and by the efforts of the Serious Games Initiative staff and community. 

Some cool stuff I saw today...

• PIP the Personal Input Pod - "a revolution in stress management"
• One-Handed Guitar Hero - adaptation of a popular game controller
• Pulse!! - my action packed adventure in emergency care of a critically wounded soldier

Yesterday I attended the preconference workshop on Virtual Worlds.  On the agenda was:

• Taking Action in Virtual Worlds (John Lester, Linden Labs)
• Virtual World Systems: What's availalbe and how do you work with it? (Tim Holt)
• Virtual Worlds for the National Emergency Medical Standards Preparedness Initiative
• Virtual Worlds & Forterra Systems (Bart Bartlett)
• Health Projects in Whyville (James Bower)
• Play2Train Framework: Idaho Bioterrorism Awareness & Preparedness Program (Ramesh Ramioll)
• Virtual Worlds for Education & Training of Health Professionals (John Miller, RN)

More cool stuff tomorrow...

• 3DiTeams (Jeffrey Taekman, Duke University & Virtual Heroes) combines gaming concepts with healthcare team coordination training curriculum. Funded by AHRQ to provide a controlled and instructive environment using Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation (SBAR) techniques and teamSTEPPS protocols.

Take home messages...

1. I heard the phrase "Virtual Standardized Patient" more than once
2. Forterra and Second Life are not the only options--there are several new companies stepping into the virtual patient space--physiologic modeling enhances the newer VP offerings
3. Everyone seems to be doing their own thing -- lots of virtual patient simulation silos -- interoperability is going to be a problem -- no one seems to be thinking about content sharing
4. Health games are becoming a big focus for major health insurance companies -- the biggest payor was absent

Comments

[Jillian]

Jeffrey Taekman is also a recent Stemmler Fund grantee!

This conference seemed very worthwhile. I still haven't gotten through all of your post. This is good stuff.