Every sphere of life, it seems, can be turned into a game ? including the way physicians offer medical advice and build a public reputation. HealthTap, a start-up based in Palo Alto, California, has brought the vocabulary and mechanics of games to medicine.
At the company?s website, users post questions and doctors post brief answers. The service is free, and the doctors aren?t paid. Instead, they engage in gamelike competitions, earning points and climbing numbered levels. They can also receive nonmonetary awards ? many of them whimsically named, like the ?It?s Not Brain Surgery? prize, earned for answering 21 questions at the site.
Fellow physicians can show that they concur with the advice offered by clicking ?Agree?, and users can show their appreciation with a ?Thank? button. These clicks bring recognition to the contributors, too. Receiving 25 thanks gives a doctor a ?Doogie Howser Award?; for 50, it?s a ?Dr Heathcliff Huxtable Award.?
Here?s an example of a question on HealthTap: ?What does it mean when ur right side of ur body goes num?? The top-rated answer last week was as follows: ?Stroke is likely. If that occurs at any time, anywhere, immediate emergency room evaluation should be done and the person should get there by ambulance. The earlier the intervention the better the result.?