Health Score

Health Score is a scoring system used by several mobile health companies in various ways to track an individuals health via Quantified Self and the help of mobile applications, social networking and elements of gamification. According to them when tracked over time, it offers a good directional indicator of how the users health and well-being is evolving over time. The scoring engine varies considerably from one company to another, and in some cases, the scoring engine is trademarked and/or patented, such as in the case of Dacadoo. Health is invisible and therefore, all health scores in use have one thing in common: they want to capture and measure health and wellness and make it visible.

Health is invisible and intangible. The basic premise of a health scoring concept is that what you can measure, you can manage. If you can measure health and wellness good enough as an indicator, then you can start working with it. None of the available health scores is in medical diagnosis, they're all lifestyle-products where the health score in use is to be understood as an indicator, a number that helps you to work with it. The score typically moves up or down indicating improvement, when it moves up, and vice versa. The simpler health scores available are more static in nature and provide a number based on some inputs provided. The more sophisticated health scores are dynamic and function in real-time, moving (such as exercise, nutrition, stress and sleep) change. Most health scores claim they are based on scientific data. The simpler models use one or a few models, the more sophisticated health scores claim to include a vast amount of models and person-years of clinical data.

Some health scores use in addition to static questionnaires also dynamic and ongoing data, such as captured and tracked by fitness or activity trackers or applications for smartphones, For instance, exercise can be tracked automatically by using a mobile app for smartphones to track the activity, or by using fitness tracking apps or devices from the supplier of the health score solution, or by connecting popular fitness tracking apps such as RunKeeper and activity tracking devices such as Fitbit or UP Jawbone step counters, etc. In the past, available information was limited and lifestyle adjustments were largely made only once a health problem was detected, and then under the guidance of healthcare professionals. Today due partly to the availability of electronic mass media there is a trend among the population to maintain their health on their own terms. This seems to be precipitating a shift away from the reactive model of health to a more proactive approach where the individual works towards the maintenance of their wellness before problems arise. This shift in attitudes is said to have broad implications for both public health and individual companies. Improved health would logically lead to reduced healthcare costs and increase workplace productivity.

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