Patient Engagement in the Medical Facility Waiting Room Using Gamified Healthcare Information Delivery

This study explores the proposition that medical facility waiting rooms are an opportune setting to engage with and educate patients while they are waiting for care. In collaboration with emergency department (ED) personnel, we developed ER Hero, a tablet-based application for waiting rooms that introduces patients to ED professionals and operations through mini-games and story-like interaction. We evaluated this prototype with human participants to determine how well it performed when compared to paper-based information disclosure presenting the same information. Participants using the application exhibited increased ED knowledge, decreased nervousness, and increased interest. The gamified application outperformed a paper-based approach on some of these aspects. Quantitative and qualitative results of this study have helped identify key design factors necessary for effective engagement with patients in the medical facility waiting room, improved communication between patients and hospital personnel, and enhanced patient experience in the waiting room.