Using Games and Gamification in Healthcare Training

 

In an industry defined by constant evolution—whether it’s new regulations, emerging therapies, or changing service models—healthcare professionals must stay informed and agile. But traditional training methods often fall short in meeting the needs of busy teams who work long hours in high-stakes environments. How can we make training more impactful, memorable, and aligned with the realities of modern healthcare?

Gamification offers a powerful solution.

By integrating game-based learning into training programs, healthcare organizations can deliver content in a way that is not only engaging but also highly effective. When designed thoughtfully, gamified experiences can provide meaningful microlearning moments—short, focused bursts of education that fit seamlessly into the workday.

This is particularly valuable for healthcare sales teams, where the ability to quickly absorb and apply complex information can directly impact performance. Through interactive scenarios, learners can practice real-world decision-making in a risk-free environment, boosting confidence, competence, and retention.

Ready to see it in action? We’ve built a scenario-based game using Scenarios that puts you in the role of a pharmaceutical sales representative. Your mission: navigate a sales conversation and make the right strategic choices to close the deal.

 

Gamification Beyond the Team: Engaging Patients, Too

While this blog primarily explores gamification for training healthcare teams, it’s worth noting that the same principles can also be applied to patient engagement. Fitness platforms like Fitbit and Peloton have successfully leveraged gamified features to encourage healthier habits and sustained motivation.

One notable example is Ortho Pharmaceutical, which developed a gamified app designed to help patients achieve their health goals. This example demonstrates how interactive experiences can be just as effective at improving patient outcomes as they are for workforce training.

Whether it’s a clinician, sales rep, or patient, gamification works because it taps into universal psychological drivers of engagement:

• It’s interactive
• It sparks our natural sense of competition
• It supports microlearning and manageable progress
• And—it’s enjoyable

In the following sections, we’ll highlight two case studies that showcase how healthcare and pharmaceutical organizations have used gamification to overcome training engagement challenges.

 

Empowering Pharma Sales Teams Through Gamified Learning

A leading pharmaceutical organization specializing in endocrine therapeutics sought a more dynamic way to train its sales representatives on a suite of new products. Traditional training approaches proved insufficient for long-term knowledge retention, so the team turned to gamification to reimagine their learning experience.

Their goal was clear: make training more engaging, memorable, and effective. By introducing game-based elements into their product training, they created an environment where learning became competitive and rewarding. Participants could:

• Compete in knowledge-based contests that test their understanding
• Earn prizes and incentives tied to their performance
• Celebrate key milestones as they progress through the training
• Engage in friendly competition through head-to-head game challenges with peers
• Track their success on global leaderboards, which accumulate points from all activities

The result? A noticeable boost in learner motivation and retention.

 

Using Games to Build Soft Skills in Healthcare Teams

Boiron, a global leader in homeopathic medicine, sought to revitalize its training approach for manufacturing and distribution employees. The goal was to boost engagement and improve strategy retention for navigating real-life workplace scenarios.

Prior to partnering with ELB Learning, Boiron experimented with “pen and paper” games as part of its learning toolkit. While well-intentioned, these analog methods lacked the interactivity and immediate feedback that today’s learners expect. The company needed a modern solution—one that delivered real-time insights and actively encouraged participation.

By incorporating digital games into their training program, Boiron was able to provide instant feedback to learners after each question, while simultaneously capturing valuable data on the backend for administrators. This approach eliminated uncertainty and guesswork, allowing learners and L&D administrators to monitor progress in real time.

Adding a points system for correct answers brought an extra layer of energy and motivation. With each success, learners felt a sense of achievement that drove them to stay engaged and continue exploring the content.

Want to know which games Boiron used to reach its goals? Read the full case study to find out—all are available in The Training Arcade^®.

 

Ready to Gamify Your Healthcare Training?

Transform your training into an engaging, results-driven experience. Schedule a call to start your free two-week trial—no coding needed. Just upload your content and turn it into an interactive game in minutes.

Game on!