IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science Study — Health-related apps in five therapy areas could produce $7 billion in annual savings • Clinical evidence of Digital Health efficacy has grown substantially; 570 studies published with over a quarter released in 2017 • Clinical utilization has increased; 860 current trials worldwide with 82% of U.S. trials run by patient care organizations • mHealth Apps nearly double since 2015; 318,500 now available with roughly 200 new apps added daily to top app stores • Apps focused on health conditions and patient care; now 40% of all apps up from 27% in 2015
Harvard Business Review (Jessica L. Alpert & Erin E. Sullivan) — Diabetes is one of the most pervasive and expensive chronic diseases: It affects an estimated 30.3 million people in the United States and costs a staggering $245 billion per year to treat. In addition there are 84.1 million adults in the United States with high blood sugar levels in danger of developing type 2 diabetes. It is widely acknowledged that the most effective method of treating these prediabetics so they don’t become full-fledged diabetics is diabetes prevention programs (DPPs) that follow a protocol validated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But the challenge has been to get people to enroll in them in the first place and stick with them if they do.
EBD Group — This newly released report, Digital Medicine 2.0, authored by Forbes contributor Nicole Fisher, covers trends in digital medicine policy, financing, privacy, and partnering with perspectives from over fifteen thought leaders in the digital health space.
Key themes in the 2017 report include: Further defining digital medicine; How partnerships are making the advancement of digital medicine possible; Investment trends and funding the future of medicine; The shifting regulatory environment and its impact; The need for data security and how we can achieve this
The Economist 1843 (Natasha Loder) — Humans have always dreamed of better, fitter, longer-lasting bodies. But while many science-fiction fantasies, from videophones to self-driving cars, have been realised, health technology has lagged behind our hopes. Artificial organs and smart pills have been a long time coming.
Forbes (by Elad Natanson) — Last month, healthcare startup Omada Health secured a $50 million C round led by major insurer Cigna, which brings the 5-year-old company’s total funding to over $127 million. That kind of nine-figure investment isn’t unusual for a company with the next blockbuster drug or game changing medical device, but Omada’s core product is a diabetes-preventing mobile app! Omada is a leader in one of the hottest new sectors of the app economy: Digital Therapeutics.
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MIT Technology Review (by Christina Farr) — Entrepreneurs are betting on apps that improve—or just replace—prescription medication.
What if an app could replace a pill? That’s the big question behind an emerging trend known as “digital therapeutics.” The idea: software that can improve a person’s health as much as a drug can, but without the same cost and side-effects.
Digital therapeutics, or “digiceuticals,” as some call them, have become a Holy Grail in some quarters of Silicon Valley, where investors see the chance to deliver medicine through your smartphone. Andreessen Horowitz, the venture firm, even predicts digital drugs will become “the third phase” of medicine, meaning the successor to the chemical and protein drugs we have now, but without the billion-dollar cost of bringing one to market.
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Harvard Business Review (by Alexander L. Fogel and Joseph C. Kvedar) — Businesses that are serious about reducing health care costs — and improving the health and well-being of their employees — should take a serious look at digital therapeutics, which have the potential to provide effective, low-cost ways to prevent and treat chronic diseases and their consequences. Digital therapeutics are technology-based solutions that have a clinical impact on disease comparable to that of a drug. They primarily use consumer-grade technology such as mobile devices, wearable sensors, big data analytics, and behavioral science and can be delivered through web browsers, apps, or in conjunction with medical devices. They can also be deployed in real time and at scale, which is critical for intervention in chronic diseases.
mHealth Intelligence (by Eric Wicklund) — A relatively new mHealth platform known as digital therapeutics is poised to take healthcare by storm.
Also commonly known as software-as-a-drug, the industry currently consists of a few dozen startups and about $500 million in business, but Psilos Group Managing Partner Joseph Riley says the market stands to blossom to a few hundred companies and some $6 billion in business in five years.
“The potential is tremendous,” he says.
Riley describes the software platform as “the equivalent of having a health coach in your pocket 24/7.” It’s driven by healthcare providers and payers looking to cut healthcare costs and improve outcomes by pushing targeted health and wellness messages when and where needed – most often through an app on a patient’s smartphone.
Forbes (by Todd Hixon) — Digital therapeutics have made surprising progress. This is good news, because digital therapeutics are typically cheap, and they have shown impressive ability to change behavior, one of the most important challenges in healthcare.
Dr. Joe Kvedar of Partners Healthcare and his co-authors recently published a very useful book, The Internet Of Healthy Things. Joe has led Partners’ efforts in connected health (using technology to connect Partners’ medical resources to patients outside the hospital) for 20 years, beginning before the era of smart phones and web-based services. Much of his material is familiar to me, however, I was quite impressed by the progress he describes on multiple fronts with digital therapeutics.
The term “digital therapeutics” refers to using a digital system to treat a medical condition, much as one might use a drug, a human counselor, or surgery. Digital therapeutics are used both stand-alone and in combination with conventional therapies.
Andreessen Horowitz (byVijay Pande): The other huge area of interest for us is “digital therapeutics”…The way I like to think of it is this: If the first phase of medicine was about small-molecule drugs delivered intravenously, and the second phase (then led by biotech companies like Genentech) was about protein biologics, then the third phase is about digital therapeutics.
It seems like the holy grail of medicine is to take a pill, wait a bit, and then get better — just like magic! But there are real limits to this, especially when it comes to depression, PTSD, smoking cessation, type II diabetes, insomnia, and other behavior-mediated conditions.
I’m confident that 10-20 years from now when we look back on this phase of medicine, it’s going to seem backwards and even barbaric that our solution to everything was just giving out pills.