Coverage: a simulation game to teach health care financing.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Care Policy

Background:

• Students demonstrated poor performance on health care financing topics in a community health clerkship examination.
• Understanding complex health insurance plans presents a significant challenge for medical students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an innovative simulation game, Coverage, to enhance medical students' learning of health insurance complexities.
• To improve student comprehension and performance related to health care financing.

Main Methods:

• The faculty designed and implemented a simulation game named Coverage.
• The game focused on the intricacies of various health insurance plans.
• The game was utilized within a community health clerkship curriculum.

Main Results:

• Medical students reported enjoyment while playing the Coverage simulation game.
• Students showed improved performance on the final examination questions pertaining to health care financing.
• The game effectively addressed the complexities of health insurance plans.

Conclusions:

• The Coverage simulation game is an effective tool for teaching health care financing to medical students.
• Innovative simulation games can enhance student engagement and improve learning outcomes in complex medical topics.
• The study highlights the potential of gamification in medical education for improving knowledge acquisition.