Digital Therapeutics Alliance leaders say summit will determine the future of the industry
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Key takeaways:
- The summit will host a morning on Capitol Hill for members and patients to advocate for the future of digital therapeutics.
- Sessions will focus on policy, as well as provider and patient experiences.
As the patient-to-medical staff ratio narrows partially due to demand for medical services and current staffing shortages, clinicians are looking for new ways to assess conditions and develop treatment options.
Digital therapeutics (DTx) could be one answer, representatives of Digital Therapeutic Alliance (DTA) told Healio.
“Digital therapeutics are here to stay, and they will be part of everybody’s health care,” Andy Molnar, CEO of DTA, told Healio. “This is the time when we define how that impacts patients’ lives.”
The organization will be hosting its inaugural summit in Washington, D.C., from June 7 to 9. This summit is designed to bring stakeholders of the DTx industry together for the first time in a setting that inspires conversation and change.
Attendees can expect sessions focused on digital health, product regulations and policy, all of which will start with a morning of advocacy on Capitol Hill. Members of DTA, along with patients, will meet with Congress to discuss the positive impact digital therapeutics can have on a patient’s health journey.
Standout sessions during the summit include “DTx Patient Experience,” a panel exploring the literacy rate, perception and engagement of patients regarding DTx use. A survey taken during the session will identify the struggles faced by users, and a follow-up workshop will take place during the final day of the summit to brainstorm ways to make DTx products better for patients.
“We want everyone in the room to feel that adoption of this class of product is possible. It's possible because we're going to do it together,” Lani Hessen, vice president of patient access at DTA, told Healio.
The Friday session, “How is the U.S. government approaching digital therapeutics?”, will feature a panel of representatives from the FDA, NIH, CMS, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and DTA.
Following that session, the summit will conclude with a press conference and final remarks from Molnar.
“The international press conference is slated to be a defining moment in digital health worldwide. We have some big announcements to make,” Molnar told Healio. “The outcome of this conference will be the future of DTA and DTx.”