Startups use tech, ‘gamification’ for public health problems
Startups use tech, ‘gamification’ for public health problems
Startups use tech, ‘gamification’ for public health problems
November 30, 2021
By Justin Papp
Summary
Wellth, founded in 2014, seeks the answers by employing behavioral economics, which takes into account individual biases and how they affect decision-making.
Users can earn small payouts, funded by Wellth clients that include medical groups and insurance companies, for doing things like taking their medication daily, a "Gamified" feature that encourages habit-forming behaviors.
Gamification is used frequently by financial technology and other tech firms to upend traditional business models and capture market share.
Wellth has raised more than $11 million the past few years, boasts tens of thousands of users and has decreased hospitalization rates by as much as 40 percent in some populations, Loper said.
So-called digital health companies are attracting capital at an increasing rate, according to Megan Zweig, chief operating officer of the seed fund Rock Health.
In the first nine months of 2021, these companies pulled in more than $20 billion in venture capital investment, up from $14.6 billion in 2020 and $7.9 billion in 2019, the firm said.
Whether digital health will drive better health outcomes largely remains to be seen, Zweig said, but the industry is already changing how people think about health care.
Reference
Papp, J. (2021, November 30). Startups use Tech, 'gamification' for public health problems. Retrieved February 01, 2022, from https://rollcall.com/2021/11/30/startups-use-tech-gamification-for-public-health-problems/