PODCAST: ‘Make It As Fun As Playing Halo 3:’ Grant Harrison on Health Technology with a Consumer POV

One of We Media Miami’s most exciting panels may be Wednesday, Feb. 27’s afternoon session on the future of health media, which will kick off with a keynote from Scott Mowbray, editorial director of Time, Inc’s. Health.com.

WebMD, “disease blogs,” and community chat boards are just some of the many avenues health consumers use today to learn about and manage their own health. This panel will ask: What is coming next? How can health care organizations play a role in building consumer-focused solutions?

The panel brings together key players from a number of disparate organizations, including AARP, Microsoft, the Permanente Foundation and QUALCOMM, which are part of the ecosystem of health information.

Kendall Lockhart, the co-founder of Nenuphar Mobile Media and panel chair spoke last week with confirmed panelist Grant Harrison, vice president for the integrated consumer experience at Humana, about what trends he sees ahead.

Harrison gives a cloudy assessment of the current state of health information media: “Right now, it’s complicated and boring,” he tells Lockhart in this exclusive podcast. “First we need to make it simple and boring. Then we can move to make it simple and fun.”

Lockhart points out that for many people, digesting information on health is about as fun as doing homework. Harrison couldn’t agree more, saying the ultimate goal is for health care providers to making health information and activities “entertaining.” Says Harrison, “It should be as fun as playing Halo 3, or watching Flight of the Conchords.”