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Why Digital Therapeutics and
Patient Engagement Strategies
Are a Must-Have for LSOs

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Health Catalyst Editors

Article
Summary
Life sciences organizations develop meaningful digital
therapeutics (DTx) that reach rural communities, treat common
chronic diseases, and connect patients to providers through
technology that supports clinical journeys. This article shares
how incorporating digital engagement tools drives the
continuous use of DTx for equitable healthcare.

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Why Digital Therapeutics and Patient Engagement
Strategies Are a Must-Have for LSOs
A subset of digital health, digital therapeutics
(DTx), are evidence-based therapeutic
interventions driven by high-quality software
programs to prevent, manage, or treat a
medical disorder or disease. DTx are regulated
by the FDA the same as medical devices and
are most frequently categorized by regulatory
jurisdictions as a subset of Software as a
Medical Device (SaMD).
SaMD

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Why Digital Therapeutics and Patient Engagement
Strategies Are a Must-Have for LSOs
With the global DTx market skyrocketing,
many life sciences organizations (LSOs) are
developing meaningful DTx that can reach
rural communities, treat common chronic
diseases, and connect patients to providers
through technology that supports all stages
of clinical journeys.
DTx Market

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Why Digital Therapeutics and Patient Engagement
Strategies Are a Must-Have for LSOs
DTx are changing how patients manage their
health outside the traditional care delivery
setting. Gartner predicts that digital
therapeutics will be mainstream in the next five
to 10 years, forcing life science commercial
operations to implement new technologies that
can engage patients and produce data-driven
insights. A comprehensive strategy that pairs
DTx with patient engagement best practices
drives equitable healthcare and presents
opportunities to expand DTx to other
populations for successful disease management.
Changing Patient Health Management

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Patient Engagement Trends
in Digital Therapeutics

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Patient Engagement Trends in Digital Therapeutics
Digital apps, fitness trackers, wellness and
therapy sites, and thousands of other programs
have revolutionized how consumers access and
digest healthcare information. DTx are
recognized as medical devices and therefore are
subject to various internationally recognized
standards and national and local regulations.
Revolutionized Healthcare Information Access

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Patient Engagement Trends in Digital Therapeutics
LSOs–including digital therapeutics,
pharmaceuticals, specialty pharmacies,
biotechnology and medical device
companies–are finding innovative ways to
advance the development of and deploy
DTx effectively across patient populations.
Whereas medications may have been the
only choice in treating certain diseases or
diagnoses, clinicians can now incorporate
digital products in the patient’s therapy to
achieve their clinical goals.
Finding Innovative Ways to Advance

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Patient Engagement Trends in Digital Therapeutics
A patient engagement platform correlates to
high utilization of the DTx and improved
clinical outcomes. Patient engagement
technology should include guiding patients
through enrollment prompts, completing
insurance verification, and supporting
patients throughout their treatment through
surveys and other check-ins. A data tracking
mechanism for DTx in at-home uses will
provide important utilization information for
clinicians and LSOs.
Patient Engagement Platform

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Patient Engagement Trends in Digital Therapeutics
Global pharmaceutical and healthcare
company AmerisourceBergen recently
announced the launch of a Digital Therapeutics
Platform, DTx Connect. According to
AmerisourceBergen, DTx Connect is a fully
integrated ordering, dispensing, and fulfillment
platform that aims to facilitate patient access
to physician-ordered digital therapeutics and
diagnostics. The platform seamlessly integrates
with electronic medical records (EMRs),
enabling physicians to easily access and
prescribe DTx through their e-prescribing
workflow and monitor patient fulfillment.
AmerisourceBergen

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Patient Engagement Trends in Digital Therapeutics
DTx Connect includes patient support services
delivered via text, a digital companion app,
and phone calls with clinical teams, which aim
to simplify the adoption and onboarding
process, keep patients engaged throughout the
treatment journey and monitor and manage
adherence.
Closing the gap in physician engagement,
providers receive patient status alerts,
including notifications for patient fulfillment.
The increased visibility throughout the patient
journey enables physicians to make more
informed engagement and care plan decisions
supporting the prescribed therapy regimen.
DTx Connect

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Digital Therapeutics Strategies
for Better Outcomes

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Digital Therapeutics Strategies for Better Outcomes
A higher level of patient engagement supports LSOs
and providers in capturing and managing the DTx
device or program data. DTx Alliance, a global
nonprofit trade association of industry leaders and
stakeholders engaged in the evidence-driven
advancement of digital therapeutics, shares that no
matter how many components are integrated into a
DTx product, all product developers must engage
end users—including patients, caregivers, and
clinicians—every step of the way.
DTx Alliance

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Digital Therapeutics Strategies for Better Outcomes
For example, Twistle™ by Health Catalyst, the
customizable disease-agnostic patient engagement
platform for DTx Connect, is the conduit between
patients and their engagement with DTx. Twistle
supports patient onboarding and easily helps
patients initiate therapy. Engagement platforms like
Twistle can also assist in motivating patients to use
their DTx, which will contribute to the technology’s
success and, ultimately, patient outcomes. Digital
engagement tools drive the continuous use of DTx
for high-value and high-quality care.
Twistle™

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Digital Therapeutics Strategies for Better Outcomes
Strategies incorporating targeted and
customized patient outreach will increase
disease management compliance and
reduce healthcare costs, which is how
healthcare providers and alliances can
measure their progress.
Twistle™

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Digital Therapeutics for
Advancing Health Equity

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Digital Therapeutics for Advancing Health Equity
Providers are incorporating DTx into
their treatment plans for population
health management and targeting
specific diseases, such as diabetes or
mental health conditions. Patients in
rural communities also benefit from DTx
as the digital divide often separates easy
access to quality healthcare.
Incorporating Dtx Into Treatment Plans

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Digital Therapeutics for Advancing Health Equity
While older and underserved populations
may be most susceptible to diseases,
adopting and utilizing DTx products due to
low or unknown technology literacy is a
significant concern for providers. DTx
products can address critical gaps in care for
underserved populations, regardless of
patient age, language, culture, income,
disease state, or geography.
DTx also fills the gap in healthcare access for
younger adults who are less likely to seek
medical care at a physician’s office and more
likely to use digital solutions like DTx to
manage their healthcare.
Technology Literacy

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Patient Engagement Tools Support Digital Therapeutics Strategies
The adoption and utilization of DTx reaches far
across patient populations and care journeys.
DTx efficacy can be limited without strategic
planning and partnerships for patient outreach,
clinician engagement, and data tracking. DTx will
advance accessibility to innovative products that
improve clinical outcomes when patients are
encouraged and actively engaged. Incorporating
technology that can guide patients through
device registration, insurance verification,
survey prompts, and much more will yield
better clinical outcomes, DTx utilization, and
value proof for providers and LSOs.
Strategic Planning and Partnerships

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Patient Engagement Tools Support Digital Therapeutics Strategies
To better understand how to effectively leverage
patient engagement tools into your DTx
strategies, download our guide: Using Digital
Therapies and Patient Engagement to Improve
Clinical Outcomes.
Strategic Planning and Partnerships

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1 Digital Patient Engagement: Best Practices
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