The Rx? A dose of Pokemon

A Michigan children's hospital is dispensing a new kind of medicine—Pokémon style.

Physical, occupational and recreational therapists at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital are using the “Pokémon Go” app to liven patients' spirits, distract them from painful procedures and encourage them to exercise and socialize with other patients. In the game, players walk around in the real world searching for Pokémon characters that appear on a virtual map in the app. They catch the Pokémon by using their phone's camera.

Because most of the young patients don't own smartphones, they have been playing the game with their parents and Mott therapists.

Because most of the young patients don't own smartphones, they have been playing the game with their parents and Mott therapists. Staff members have identified four Pokéstops in Mott—landmarks where players can collect virtual items that help them in the game—and there are more throughout the massive University of Michigan medical campus.

“We're definitely seeing immediate, almost measurable responses to the patients' reaction to the game. It's been a motivator and very helpful to our patients,” said J.J. Bouchard, the hospital's digital media manager.

When a character happens to be perched on an IV pole or a stethoscope, therapists use the app as a teaching tool to help patients become comfortable with medical equipment, Bouchard explained. The hospital's teen advisory council—composed of current and former patients—even led an organized Pokémon hunt through the medical campus.