Ep. 35: New models of rehabilitation through technology and gaming with Ted Spooner

In this episode of Surviving Healthcare, you will hear one way technology and health are partnering to achieve better outcomes.

My guest for this episode is Ted Spooner. Ted is the co-founder and CEO of Respondwell, one of the best and most-honored physical rehabilitation software companies in the country. RespondWell is a leader in the area of fitness gaming and telerehabilitation. Ted is one of the best possible experts to talk with regarding the use of technology in the healthcare field.

You will hear a fascinating discussion of the various needs people have for different types of therapy and how technology can make it easier to engage in therapeutic activity that can prevent certain problems from occurring in the first place. That leads to the discussion of the biggest difference between healthcare and other markets.

You will hear why the future of healthcare seems to be in the hands of patients more so than physicians and insurance companies, and how that may look in the future.

We then talk about the various payment strategies available to both the patient and the physical therapist, and which ones are most likely to work best.

The discussion then evolves into a more general discussion of them gaming aspects of physical therapy and how that may change in the future. It follows a typical game model, which can include:

• The need to achieve a goal, based on an engagement model;
• The need to establish a relationship between the "coach" and the player through "personification" technology;
• The need to create an ultimate expectation for the therapy and;
• A reward based on what the user finds important.

The future of healthcare is already here, in many ways, and this episode of the podcast gives us a glimpse of that future and how that may look.

To read more about this episode or check out other guests and topics, visit surivivinghealthcarepodcast.com