You have to admit, technology is a bit of a mixed bag. Sure we have access to much of the world’s knowledge “at our fingertips,” but it’s way too easy for people to find us and too easy to get lost in the endless flow of “online.” For some of us, though, technology is literally saving our lives every day.
Growth of Digital Therapeutics Industry
Digital therapeutics (DTx) is a fairly new medical discipline. Although some early efforts can be traced to the 1990s, the industry really took off after 2012 as it became commonplace for desktop computers and mobile devices to work together. DTx always involves apps or devices that help a patient achieve a goal or understand a condition. DTx can mean electronic sensors that gather data, wearable devices that can deliver medication, applications that prompt or remind about behaviors, some VR experiences, and some forms of artificial intelligence.
The Digital Therapeutics Association (DTA) says that DTx “delivers evidence-based therapeutic interventions that are driven by high quality software programs to prevent, manage, or treat a medical disorder or disease.” According to the journal Nature, “In 2002, a study showed that an intensive behavioral intervention targeting diet and exercise could significantly reduce people’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes.” This study prompted the development of lifestyle-change programs with CDC approval. These early programs were face to face with providers, but companies like Omada began developing interventions in the digital space and DTx was born.
Cutting Edge of Medical Interaction
While the official definition of DTx requires tools that are approved and regulated, some DTx applications are created with open source software. This is often cutting edge stuff that doesn’t have FDA approval yet. The public’s need for hardware and software that solves medical problems currently outpaces the innovation and bureaucracy of the healthcare industry.
I have a friend who uses an app on her phone to control her continuous glucose monitor (CGM). People in the diabetes community created the app because there was nothing to connect the system of the CGM to the system of a glucose pump. To use her phone to connect the two devices, she has to use a software developers kit to compile the raw code whenever she needs to upgrade. Using these tools, she has controlled her diabetes to the point her A1C would be normal if it were mine or yours.
Another application of DTx is offering patients cognitive behavioral therapy. For example, mental health providers can use adhere.ly to remind their patients to practice therapeutic exercises. Using the app, patients can actually practice mental wellness exercises right on their desktop or mobile device. Providers can also send encouraging text messages to their patients by creating personalized messages in the app that are sent on a predetermined schedule. Other DTx systems can help treat substance abuse, schizophrenia, or insomnia.
DTx products can address critical gaps in care for underserved populations, regardless of patient age, language, culture, income, disease state, or geography.
– DTA
Digital therapeutics can also help people who can’t visit a doctor’s office. Some telemedicine products, including doxy.me, can use special high definition audio devices to allow providers to hear a patient’s heartbeat while the patient is at home.
Virtual reality is another growing area for DTx technology. VR is being used as a therapeutic medium for treating PTSD, anxiety, phobias, OCD, and other conditions that require patient and provider interaction. There’s still a lot of room for growth with this intersection of technologies, but enthusiastic studies are happening all the time.
The Future of DTx
Digital therapeutics can work for patients anywhere they may be, in any language and in any country. Providers can use technology to reach their patients and collect important data to focus and improve their medical care. As broadband becomes more available in more parts of the world, the potential for DTx is startling. It’s always interesting to watch the world change before your eyes. Digital therapeutics is certainly a thing to watch.
Learn More
For an introduction to digital therapeutics, read this journal article from 2020.