What You Should Know:
This week, AmerisourceBergen announced plans to launch DTx Connect, a fully integrated ordering, dispensing and fulfillment platform that aims to facilitate patient access to physician-ordered digital therapeutics and diagnostics.
– Several developers plan to pilot DTx Connect, which aims to reduce barriers that physicians and patients face across the ordering and fulfillment of digital therapeutics and diagnostics.
Digital Therapeutics Market Growth
Digital therapeutics diverge from other digital health tools, in part, because they must be cleared or certified by regulatory bodies to support claims of risk, efficacy and intended use. The market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 25% from 2022 to 2030 in the United States.
DTx Connect Overview
The new digital therapeutics platform, which seamlessly integrates with electronic medical records (EMR), enables physicians to easily access and order prescription and non-prescription DTx through their e-prescribing workflow and subsequently monitor patient fulfillment. DTx delivers clinical interventions directly to patients via software to treat, manage or prevent a broad spectrum of diseases and disorders, including behavioral health conditions and diabetes. The products, which occasionally require a prescription, can be used as standalone therapies or in combination with other treatments or devices.
Key features include:
– E-prescribing through EMR: Physicians can search for digital therapeutics and diagnostic tools via a digital catalog and then order the products within their e-prescribing workflow.
– Efficient dispense and fulfillment: After the physician orders a product, DTx Connect delivers a welcome message on behalf of the care team via text or within the patient portal. Patients also receive an electronic link that enables them to download the prescription or non-prescription product and access educational materials.
– Patient support services: Patient services—delivered via text, a digital companion app, and phone calls with clinical teams—aim to simplify the adoption and onboarding process, keep patients engaged throughout the treatment journey and monitor and manage adherence.
– Patient Status Alerts: DTx Connect provides physicians with 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 in support of the prescribed therapy regimen.
AmerisourceBergen already has a list of digital health companies committed to pilot the digital therapeutics platform, including Mahana Therapeutics, a leading developer of prescription digital therapeutics designed to empower patients with chronic health conditions, and Videra Health, an AI-assisted video assessment and remote patient monitoring platform.
“While digital therapeutics and diagnostics offer tremendous potential, addressing challenges across the provider workstream and patient journey remain critical to unlocking the value these products have to offer,” said Jason Dinger, SVP of Strategy and Innovation at AmerisourceBergen. “Given our role in the supply chain and our portfolio of commercialization services, we are uniquely positioned to build a solution that aims to address unmet needs and helps patients start and stay on physician-ordered products. DTx Connect, in addition to AmerisourceBergen’s patient support and market access consulting services, enables us to deliver enhanced support across the product lifecycle, helping to advance accessibility.”
