Digital therapeutics is the combination of interactive technology and healthcare. It is a rapidly growing field that lets healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies deliver treatments to improve the health of patients more effectively and efficiently. The applications of digital therapeutics provide a variety of solutions to improve quality of life, ranging from digital treatments, to mobile health applications, to the use of telemedicine and remote patient monitoring.
What is Digital Therapeutics?
Digital therapeutics is defined as the use of interactive technologies to provide evidence-based medical treatments with a measurable outcome. These digital therapies can include mobile health applications, virtual personal counselors, or even computer programs with the goal of improving patient outcomes and providing personalized care.
The use of digital therapeutics helps to improve the efficiency of medical treatments and the cost savings for healthcare providers. Digital therapeutics apps use algorithms and AI to learn from the patient’s data in order to personalize care. They are specifically designed to improve outcomes by providing stimulating challenges, reminders, or goals that help a patient be compliant with their medicine, diet, and exercise regime—all while having access to their data in real-time.
Benefits of Digital Therapeutics
Digital therapeutics offers a wide range of benefits for patients, healthcare providers, and pharmaceutical companies. For patients, they provide a personalized, immersive, and engaging experience that can be tailored to meet their specific needs. This helps to improve patient engagement, which is essential for successful medical treatment outcomes.
For healthcare providers, digital therapeutics can help to improve care delivery, reduce costs, and improve patient outcomes. Digital therapeutics can also help to reduce time burden on physicians and enhance the accuracy of medical decision making. Finally, for pharmaceutical companies, digital therapeutics can improve drug adherence, reduce the cost of drug development, and expand the reach of treatments to a broader market.
Examples of Digital Therapeutics
One of the most popular examples of digital therapeutics is Fitbit, which is a wearable device that can track your physical activity, heart rate, and sleep patterns. FitBit also includes a mobile app that allows users to set goals and manage their activity data. Other popular examples of digital therapeutics include MedMinder, a medication management system, and Silvercloud Health, an online mental health platform.
The Future of Digital Therapeutics
Digital therapeutics is becoming an increasingly important part of the healthcare industry as more companies are investing in developing this technology. In the future, digital therapeutics will become even more advanced, with the capability to deliver customized treatments for individual patients and expand the reach of treatments to a global market.
As more healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies invest in developing digital therapeutics platforms, patients will benefit from improved medical treatments, better access to care, and improved outcomes. By combining technology and medicine in a way that is data-driven, the future of digital therapeutics promises to be a powerful tool in improving the health and wellbeing of all patients.