Digital Health bits | January 29th 2020
Germany: Reimbursement of Digital Health Apps - A “World First”
The Digital Healthcare Act (Digitale-Versorgung-Gesetz DVG) was published in the German Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt) on 18 December 2019 and entered into force on 19 December 2019, having been passed by the German Parliament (Bundestag) in November 2019. Among other regulations intended to expand the digitalisation of the healthcare system, the law will allow the prescription and reimbursement of digital health apps, which was called a “world first” by the German Health Minister, Jens Spahn.
Health applications, which are classified as low-risk medical devices (class I or IIa), will be reimbursed by the statutory health insurance under the following provisions according to new Sec. 33a Social Security Code V (Fünftes Buch Sozialgesetzbuch -SGB V):
• Prescription by a doctor or permission from the health insurance company
• Inclusion in the directory for digital health applications by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (Bundesamt für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte -BfArM)
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Digital videos can be a vital source of cancer health education
Online health videos can be an important source of cancer education, according to Rutgers researchers. Their review, published in the Journal of Cancer Education, analyzed existing research to see how people obtained their cancer knowledge and how educational videos they watched prompted a change in their behavior.
Examining literature from three large health databases from PubMed, MEDLINE and PsychINFO, the researchers focused on people's cancer knowledge, their preferred method of receiving information and any changes made in behavior. They found that people who viewed online digital videos had an increase in awareness and understanding of cancer risk factors and screening procedures. They also found that YouTube was the preferred social media platform for watching these videos, over Twitter and Facebook. In addition, they noted that there was an increase in behavioral changes such as self-skin inspections and the likelihood of people seeking lung cancer screening increased after viewing online digital videos.
PatchAi launches virtual assistant for clinical trial patients
The Italian startup PatchAi has launched an empathic virtual assistant designed to help patients taking part in the clinical trial process.
PatchAi has already closed two funding rounds, raising around 900,000 euros to support the product over the past year.
The service began operating in December and among the first PatchAi clients is Novartis Italia, following early support from the Unicredit Startup Lab, the European Institute of Technology and collaborations with international players such as IBM and HIT – University of Padua.
PatchAi says it has the first cognitive platform offering an empathic virtual assistant, for collection and predictive analysis of patient reported data in clinical trials.
Pending authorisation, the app will be a Class 1 medical device using AI to assess patient needs, implement strategies to achieve and maintain patient engagement.
It can also collect valuable real world data on symptoms, adverse events, therapy adherence and quality of life.
The idea was born in hospital wards where the four founders, Alessandro Monterosso, Filip Ivancic, Kumara Palanivel, and Daniele Farro, experienced the unexpressed needs of patients, communication barriers, and obsolete data collection practices.
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Will the FDA give the go-ahead to a prescription video game? The wait goes on, as new data come in
In mid-2018, the startup Akili Interactive Labs asked the Food and Drug Administration to let it do something that’s never been done before: market a video game that physicians would prescribe to kids with ADHD.
A year and a half later, that green light has yet to materialize. It’s unclear whether that’s a sign of trouble — the company wouldn’t say whether the agency has asked it to make changes or run a new study — or simply a reflection of the complexity of evaluating a medical product without precedent.
Akili’s CEO, Eddie Martucci, told STAT the company is having ongoing discussions with regulators. He said Akili believes it has studied its game rigorously, and that the data speak for themselves.
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Mental health app helps create ‘calm cards’
A mental health charity has produced a physical version of the content of its app to help young people who are at risk of self-harming but are unable to use their phone.
The Wimbledon based charity Stem4’s Calm Harm app has been downloaded more than a million times across 171 countries to offer young people a self-management mental health tool.
Following the app’s success in helping those at risk of self-harm, the charity has launched a set of Calm Cards. These are based on the app’s content and are aimed at reaching young people in situations where phones are banned or unavailable. This includes at home, schools, hospitals and secure detention facilities.
Many users access the app at night, however, sometimes this is difficult in homes where parents may restrict the use of mobile phones due to concerns around sleep.
According to the charity, almost all (93 per cent) of the app’s users said its content had reduced their symptoms.
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NHS Digital toolkit launched to integrate health and care apps
Approved digital health and care app and website developers can now integrate NHS login into their products thanks to a new toolkit launched by NHS Digital.
NHS login has been developed to give patients access to their healthcare information across all approved healthcare apps and platforms, wherever they see the NHS login button.
Providers of digital services can now integrate NHS login into their platforms through the self-service toolkit.
The toolkit has been developed and tested by NHS Digital working with developers.
Currently seven services currently have NHS login fully enabled – with others working towards integration.
Services who wish to integrate NHS login into their platforms can use the toolkit to apply for NHS login accreditation.
Rebecca Jarratt, lead delivery manager at NHS Digital, said: “NHS login benefits patients by giving them secure access to their approved healthcare apps in a way that removes the need for multiple logins and passwords.
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Note: Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer
Interesting info!