5 Big Ideas from the AHIP Conference

5. It's game time.
Interactive health is an industry segment that employs gaming systems to make being healthy more fun. It's estimated that almost 70% of households include someone who plays games. Microsoft had Kinect for Xbox 360 set up at its AHIP booth and there always seemed to be a line of conference participants anxious to get in a little Kinect time.

For now the system is sports and exercise based but the big idea is to encourage consumers to achieve long-term health and wellness goals by incorporating the science of social gaming ? personal engagement, rewards and multimedia presentations. As Microsoft's Dennis Schmuland explains, "fun always takes precedence."

Aetna is set to launch later this year a social game to promote wellness that will be accessible through mobile phones, email and social media channels. There's even a group, Health Games Research, that's looking at how digital games can be used to help motivate treatment adherence and manage chronic health conditions.