Gaming consoles could provide a bridge between chronically ill patients and health care providers

The University of Washington's Dr. Harold Goldberg has received a grant from the Robert Wood Foundation to develop virtual environments that will facilitate home-based co-management care for chronically ill patients. Dr. Goldberg believes that the hardware used in gaming consoles, like Nintendo's GameCube, can be used to encourage patients to better monitor their health in-between exams, which typically occur 3-4 months apart. The goal is to design an interface that will bring patients and their doctors together continuously, so that chronic illnesses can be treated on a daily basis.
Apparently, by the year 2030, half of the American population will be "chronically diseased." But we'll also have gaming consoles to self-medicate...

[Thanks, Godfree]