The Rise of Digital Therapeutics in Healthcare

Janifha Evangeline | Sunday, 23 April 2023

We are rapidly transitioning into an era where software platforms will be treating millions of patients, - thanks to the huge advancements in digital health innovation. The usage of technology like mobile applications, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality has increased as a result of the digital transformation of the healthcare industry. Since traditional healthcare cannot adequately fulfil contemporary expectations and socioeconomic needs, digital solutions are growing in popularity.High-quality software programmes called digital therapeutics (DTx) provide evidence-based therapeutic interventions to prevent, manage, or treat medical conditions or diseases. Up until 2030, the digital therapeutics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 26.1%. They have advanced considerably, receiving many FDA clearances, conducting clinical study after clinical trial, and investing 79% more than they did in 2020.Companies that specialize in digital therapeutics are changing the way healthcare is delivered and spreading their influence across many stages of the patient journey. Some of the digital devices and technologies that are leveraged by digital therapeutics include:

Mobile Health

Mobile digital therapies provide individualized DTx interventions that watch, comprehend, and coach people in their everyday lives. Traditional wellness and health applications offer some support for a variety of ailments, but digital treatments are more advanced, go through extensive clinical trials, and have outcomes that are supported by science.For a mobile digital therapeutic that dramatically improved clinical results in treatments for opioid use disorder, PEAR Therapeutics was the first business to get FDA approval. PEAR medications create prescription digital medications that work in conjunction with outpatient care for conditions like psychiatric and neurological disorders.Patients can manage their health-related behaviours, such as physical activity, food intake, and substance use, with the help of numerous other mobile DTx applications. For instance, Clickotine, a mobile health DTx platform, assists smokers in quitting smoking by utilising a personalised plan, scientifically supported coping mechanisms, social support, and easy access to cessation tools. As people take greater ownership of their health than ever before, DTx platforms can provide a truly all-encompassing and individualized approach to better health outcomes.

Artificial Intelligence

AI has a big impact on personalizing software therapies and raising user engagement. By personalizing not just the medication itself but also predicting demands and obstacles based on the individual's behaviour, AI-enabled therapies provide diagnostics and genuinely personalized care. AI alerts and notifications that are proactive can help users remember to take their medications and foresee when they might need some extra encouragement or support. In the case of Clickotine, the programme anticipates that a user may experience a craving after buying a cup of coffee and sends a message of encouragement to encourage them to resist the urge.Cognitivity Neurosciences, a medical technology business that just got FDA authorization for their AI platform for early diagnosis of cognitive impairment, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease, is another cutting-edge AI digital treatment. Since the discovery of amnesia and dementia more than 100 years ago, the diagnosis process has remained mostly unchanged. AI, on the other hand, can be extremely accurate at a very cheap cost and considerably faster than current options, which are primarily paper-based surveys.

Virtual Reality

The transition from the therapy room to the real world should be made easier by virtual reality - thanks to significant advancements in hardware performance and ergonomics. With data-driven interventions that are observable and cost-effective, virtual reality can expand healthcare to the masses and save expenses.The FDA authorized EaseVRx is the first VR digital therapeutic that was approved in November 2021. The FDA referred to the prescription DTx in a press release as an "immersive virtual reality system that uses cognitive behavioral therapy and other behavioral methods to help with pain reduction in patients 18 years of age and older with diagnosed chronic lower back pain."When compared to mobile and real-world solutions, this medium can also boost treatment adherence by offering virtual care at amazing hyper-realistic locales and by gamifying interventions. For stem cell patients who are sequestered in their hospital rooms for a month or longer, Rocket VR Health, is developing a DTx solution. The company is able to take patients out of their hospital rooms and into natural settings where they may adhere to a tried-and-true therapy framework using virtual reality. With the help of this medium, hospitals may be able to scale up their effective mental health treatments without hiring more personnel.Parts of the population who have previously been underserved by conventional treatments may have a bright future - thanks to the invention and implementation of DTx. As DTx's indications grow, the availability of therapeutic options and ongoing care will also rise, possibly resulting in cheaper costs and, most crucially, improved patient outcomes.Numerous technological platforms already offer outstanding patient results, more intelligent clinical tools, and affordable payer solutions. We may all soon anticipate a world where technology enables us to live healthier and happier lives because there has been so much progress in this area.