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The term virtual patient is used to describe interactive computer simulations used in health care education to train students on clinical processes such as making diagnoses and therapeutic decisions. Virtual patients attempt to combine modern technologies and game-based learning to facilitate education, and complement real clinical training. The use of virtual patients is increasing in healthcare due to increased demands on healthcare professionals, education of healthcare trainees, and to provide learners with a safe practice environment. There are many different formats a virtual patient may take, but the overarching principle is that of interactivity. Virtual patients typically have mechanisms where information is parsed out in response to the learners, simulating how patients respond to different treatments. Interactivity is often included with questions, specific decision-making tasks, text-composition etc. and is non-sequential. Most systems provide quantitative and qualitative feedback. In some cases, virtual patients are not full simulations themselves, but are mainly based on paper-based cases; as they do not allow for physical examination, or an in-depth medical history of a real patient.