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Your New Doctor: Nintendo Wii “Check Up”

From Nintendo Wii’s unprecedented popularity and its ancillary health products such as the Wii Fit, it is no surprise the company, with partners NEC, Hitachi and a health insurance company, are launching a more comprehensive health care product: Wii “Check Up” .

As reported by Engadget, Scheduled for an April Launch, the product is to facilitate communication between users and health “agents” to provide health guidance. The service is said to be compatible with Wii Fit and the balance board as well as NEC’s mobile health platform.

Slashdot reports “this service will will be introduced by Panasonic Medical Solutions to health care workers with its Plissimo Sigusa health care plan. What’s more, Panasonic Medical Solutions is offering the program to the country’s health insurance union.”

We are seeing the age of self-directed health care take hold and deeply intertwine itself with technology. The deep knowledge available to patients over the internet and the resulting discussion of health care topics offers user a more comprehensive look into their health then just a simple visit to a physician. More and more people are being given the tools to be in more control over their care and thus be conscious of preventive medicine. Products such as Wii Check Up are in their conceptual infancy. As these products evolve they will allow users to see the impact of day to day activities on projected health goals.

For example, one will enter certain weight and exercise goals into your Wii interface. As you work towards these goals, they will interface (hopefully voluntarily, but that is a different discussion) with your EHR (Electronic Health Records) which will give you a real time look of the ongoing impact of these goals on your detailed medical issues (blood, cholesterol, hypertension et cetera). In turn, your doctor will be able to interface back with your Wii or other tech unit giving your real time feedback and advice. Reality, Fantasy or scary? As larger institutions (such as health care facilities, insurance and pharmaceutical companies) move towards embracing this multi-avenue technology we will see the development of intricate health feedback systems. Unsure how this will develop, but we shall see. What do you think?