VIDEO GAME FOR INTERACTIVELY MODELING COMMUNITY HEALTH BEHAVIOR AND COSTS FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT
First Claim
1. A method for employing a video game to simulate costs for health care treatment and prevention for a populace of a virtual community, comprising:
- receiving at least one parameter regarding the virtual community and the populace, wherein a budget and a time period for a round of the video game are generated based on the at least one received parameter;
during the round of the video game, enabling each person that is ill in the virtual community to be provided with a treatment action that is charged to the budget;
during the round of the video game, enabling each person that is healthy in the virtual community to be provided with a prevention action that is credited to the budget;
during the round of the video game, enabling at least one of a treatment facility and a prevention facility to be added to the virtual community, wherein the at least one added facility is debited from the budget and available for at least one next round; and
at the end of each round of the video game, displaying an analysis of a remainder of the budget, and a result of each treatment action and each prevention action that is provided to each person in the virtual community.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A video game application that interactively simulates how a budget can be managed for health care prevention and treatment in a community based upon several factors. These factors include the availability and type of prevention and treatment facilities in the community, how effectively a populace uses available facilities, and how effectively costs are managed for increasing the capacity of treatment and prevention in the community. A player can advance to a next round of the video game if all of the virtual populace has either received treatment for an illness (when they are ill) or participated in a prevention action. Also, to successfully complete a round, the number of emergency hospital visits that occur during a round are less than a predetermined parameter and the costs incurred during the round do not exceed the current round'"'"'s budget. Health indicators may also be associated with members of the virtual populace.
17 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method for employing a video game to simulate costs for health care treatment and prevention for a populace of a virtual community, comprising:
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receiving at least one parameter regarding the virtual community and the populace, wherein a budget and a time period for a round of the video game are generated based on the at least one received parameter; during the round of the video game, enabling each person that is ill in the virtual community to be provided with a treatment action that is charged to the budget; during the round of the video game, enabling each person that is healthy in the virtual community to be provided with a prevention action that is credited to the budget; during the round of the video game, enabling at least one of a treatment facility and a prevention facility to be added to the virtual community, wherein the at least one added facility is debited from the budget and available for at least one next round; and at the end of each round of the video game, displaying an analysis of a remainder of the budget, and a result of each treatment action and each prevention action that is provided to each person in the virtual community. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for a video game to simulate costs for health care treatment and prevention for a populace of a virtual community, comprising:
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a server, including a memory for storing code that enables actions; a processor for performing actions, comprising; receiving at least one parameter regarding the virtual community and the populace, wherein a budget and a time period for a round of the video game are generated based on the at least one received parameter; and at the end of each round of the video game, enabling displaying of an analysis of a remainder of the budget, and a result of each treatment action and each prevention action that is provided to each person in the virtual community; and a client comprising; a memory for storing code that enables actions; a processor for performing actions, including; during the round of the video game, enabling each person that is ill in the virtual community to be provided with a treatment action that is charged to the budget; during the round of the video game, enabling each person that is healthy in the virtual community to be provided with a prevention action that is credited to the budget; and during the round of the video game, enabling at least one of a treatment facility and a prevention facility to be added to the virtual community, wherein the at least one added facility is debited from the budget and available for at least one next round. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A processor readable storage medium that includes code for enabling actions for employing a video game to simulate costs for health care treatment and prevention for a populace of a virtual community, comprising:
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a first module for receiving at least one parameter regarding the virtual community and the populace, wherein a budget and a time period for a round of the video game are generated based on the at least one received parameter; a second module for enabling each person that is ill in the virtual community to be provided with a treatment action that is debited from the budget during the round of the video game; a third module for enabling each person that is healthy in the virtual community to be provided with a prevention action that is credited to the budget during the round of the video game; a fourth module for enabling at least one of a treatment facility and a prevention facility to be added to the virtual community during the round of the video game, wherein the at least one added facility is charged to the budget and available for at least one next round; and a fifth module for displaying an analysis of a remainder of the budget, and a result of each treatment action and each prevention action that is provided to each person in the virtual community at the end of each round of the video game. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. An apparatus for employing a video game to simulate costs for health care treatment and prevention for a populace of a virtual community:
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a memory for storing code that enables actions; a processor for performing actions, including; receiving at least one parameter regarding the virtual community and the populace, wherein a budget and a time period for a round of the video game are generated based on the at least one received parameter; during the round of the video game, enabling each person that is ill in the virtual community to be provided with a treatment action that is charged to the budget; during the round of the game, enabling each person that is healthy in the virtual community to be provided with a prevention action that is credited to the budget; during the round of the game, enabling at least one of a treatment facility and a prevention facility to be added to the virtual community, wherein the at least one added facility is debited from the budget and available for at least one next round; and at the end of each round of the video game, displaying an analysis of a remainder of the budget, and a result of each treatment action and each prevention action that is provided to each person in the virtual community. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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Specification