You may have seen different ways that Pokemon Go can land you in the hospital.
People have walked off cliffs, into traffic, and into glass doors, while engrossed in the new smartphone game that has become an epidemic. Now, an increasing number of hospitals are concerned about the game leading players into hospitals and healthcare facilities.
If you’ve never played Pokemon Go, here’s how it works. The virtual reality game displays a map that matches your real surroundings. You then travel around town searing for PokéStops and Pokémon gyms, where you can pick up various items such as eggs, Poké Balls, and potions and meet and battle other players. These locations can be anywhere considered by the game manufacturers to be “public”, which seems to include parts of hospitals and other health care facilities.
Some hospitals have already complained. The Allegheny Health Network around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has asked Niantic, the manufacturer of Pokemon Go, to remove its facilities from the game.The American Hospital Association has also requested the same of Niantic. What’s the danger of Pokemon enthusiasts entering health care facilities as long as they are not on a stretcher? The concerns include players:
- Disrupting crucial health care operations or distracting health care personnel.
- Bringing dirt and various infectious diseases into the facility, which can be especially harmful to patients with weakened immune system.
- Hearing or seeing private information about patients.
- Getting hurt or sick, because hospitals may not be the safest place with medical equipment, sharp instruments, body fluids, and infectious diseases.
In a way, Pokemon Go can expose the vulnerabilities, poor design, and general flaws of a health care facility. A health care facility may have numerous entrances that are not regularly monitored or guarded. It may be too easy for visitors to access patient information, medical equipment, or patient body fluid samples. Employees may be too lax about discussing private patient information in public areas. The health care facility may not be doing an adequate job keeping its premises clean and free from contamination.
An additional concern of some health care facilities is employees playing Pokemon Go while working. For example, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston sent out a mass email requesting that its staff refrain from playing the game at work. You can probably see the hazards of someone caring for your life, being distracted by Poke Balls, stardust, and candies. However, one does wonder whether Pokemon Go is the first ever distraction. Video and handheld games certainly aren’t new. Before Pokemon Go, there was Tetris, Minecraft, fantasy or rotisserie sports, and Tinder (yes, this last one is technically not a game…but isn’t it really?) What will hospitals and health care facilities do about future “distractions”?
Pokemon Go will certainly not be the last addictive game out there. There are things that will occur with 100% certainty. A fight will occur on a reality show, the Philadelphia Eagles will not win the Super Bowl this year, and new addictive games or apps will continue to emerge over time. If a health care facility cannot handle Pokemon Go, then perhaps it’s time to examine more closely its facility design, operations, and management to determine what changes are needed. Maybe Pokemon Go is the poke that some health care facilities needed.