Your Doctor Might Prescribe… A Video Game?
Summary: A recent feature in Forbes (September 2025) by John Samuels explores the growing trend of prescribing video games as treatments—so-called digital therapeutics. These game-based interventions are being used for conditions like ADHD, depression, chronic pain, and anxiety. The article discusses evidence of efficacy, regulatory approval (such as FDA authorization), and challenges such as cost, accessibility, and ensuring clinical oversight.
Key Highlights:
- Video games are being designed with therapeutic intent, not merely for entertainment—programs such as EndeavorRx are FDA-authorized for ADHD treatment in children. These aim to improve attention, reduce symptoms, and complement traditional therapies.
- Evidence is accumulating: some trials show measurable improvements in attention, mood, and pain tracking when video-game interventions are used as adjuncts.
- Regulatory and reimbursement issues remain unsettled. For many digital therapeutics, getting approval and insurance coverage is still a hurdle. Clinicians need to ensure these tools are evidence-based, appropriately prescribed, and integrated into the broader care plan.
- Accessibility is an issue: game-based therapeutics require patient access to suitable devices, digital literacy, and ongoing monitoring. There can also be concerns about screen time, gaming addiction, and whether benefits translate outside game environments.
- Potential cross-application to wound care: while the article doesn’t highlight wound healing directly, there’s opportunity to use similar approaches (gamified adherence, behavior change, or virtual reality) to support wound care patients—such as improving compliance with offloading, dressing changes, physical therapy, or pain management.
Read the full article in Forbes
Keywords:
digital therapeutics,
therapeutic video games,
EndeavorRx,
ADHD treatment,
behavior change,
John Samuels,
regulation digital therapeutics