HelloBetter Q2 2022 - Growth Update

In our second growth update for 2022, we are pleased to announce further achievements:

• 5th DiGA approval: The listing of HelloBetter Panic makes us the company with the most prescription digital therapeutics on the market worldwide. 
• ISO 27001 certification: The successful implementation of an information security management system certifies HelloBetter's high standards in data security.
• Application boom and HelloBetter Handbook: We received almost 2000 applications in five months. Moving forward, we will use the new HelloBetter Handbook to provide even more transparency on what HelloBetter stands for and how it feels to work with and for us.
• DiGA market grows in the first half of 2022: Handelsblatt Inside Digital Health released new DiGA prescription numbers, showing an extrapolated volume of 61,000 DiGA within the first six months - a strong signal that DiGA adoption is increasing further.

Feel free to dig deeper into each update below! We will keep you updated!

5th DiGA approval: The listing of HelloBetter Panic makes us the company with the most prescription digital therapeutics on the market worldwide. 

On April 3rd, our fifth DiGA, HelloBetter Panic, received regulatory approval by The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), the German equivalent of the FDA, and is now available free of charge on prescription to all adults in Germany. No other company has received a greater number of regulatory approvals for prescription digital therapeutics (PDTx).

Over several years and in dialogue with patients, a team of experts from science, psychotherapy and psychology has successfully developed and evaluated HelloBetter Panic. The effectiveness of HelloBetter Panic has been proven in an independent clinical study. It showed that upon completion of the programme, the severity of the patients’ panic disorders dropped by one third, on average. After six months, the symptoms’ severity had reduced even more – by an average of 52%.

2-3 % of adults are affected by panic disorders and during the pandemic, this has increased significantly. People who suffer from panic attacks experience short periods of extreme anxiety, which are accompanied by physical symptoms, including tachycardia, dizziness and shortness of breath. People with panic disorders suffer from recurring panic attacks that usually lead to excessive fear of future attacks, known as anticipatory anxiety. Although there are specialized treatments for panic disorders, those affected often wait a very long time for therapy or have to travel long distances for outpatient treatment. If the symptoms remain untreated, they can take on a life of their own. Moreover, such treatments are lengthy and, therefore, considerably more expensive for the insurance provider.

“Many people affected develop various avoidance tactics over time that can encourage the maintenance of panic attacks. For example, places, situations or activities classified as supposedly risky are avoided or no longer visited alone, but only accompanied by another person,” explains Verena Schmitz, a psychotherapist at HelloBetter. Direct access to effective online programmes is of enormous therapeutic benefit, as Verena Schmitz reflects: “HelloBetter Panic offers those affected immediate and highly effective support, which they can use anytime, anywhere. This is a great help towards once again leading a full and varied life.”

Press release: Click here

ISO 27001 certification: The successful implementation of an information security management system certifies HelloBetter's high standards in data security.

DiGA manufacturers are obligated via DiGA regulation to fulfil extensive requirements regarding both data protection and information security. Of a total of 120 requirements listed by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) regarding the approval of a DiGA, 80 concern data protection and information security. For example, one of these requirements is that manufacturers are obligated to implement an information security management system (ISMS).

HelloBetter successfully proved its adherence to the BfArM’s requirements and received the recognised certification according to ISO 27001 on April, 29th, 2022. This ISO standard contains 114 additional measures to ensure data security and was audited by an independent and accredited German certification body.

Application boom and HelloBetter Handbook: A new way for candidates to experience HelloBetter

As a thriving mental health company, we are always looking for great new team members across the whole company. From the start, it was our aspiration to provide applicants with an outstanding candidate experience. One approach we have been following is to think differently about giving potential applicants meaningful impressions of how it feels like to work with us on making mental health care universally accessible. We never had a career page but found different ways of achieving this mission. The numbers speak for themselves: In the first five months of 2022, we have already received nearly 2,000 applications.

But we are not stopping here: We want to set a new standard with regard to transparency and openness throughout the hiring process. We developed the HelloBetter Handbook to fulfil just that. The handbook contains all information surrounding our culture, values, teams and how we do things - all in one place!

We invite interested people and potential candidates to learn the fundamentals of HelloBetter, get to know our teams and find out how we transfer our mission of “making mental health care universally accessible” into our daily tasks and how we have fun together. We also want to provide valuable tools, frameworks and templates to other startups in our ecosystem.To that end, moving forward, we will publish more content of this nature. 

HelloBetter Handbook: Click here

DiGA market grows in the first half of 2022

Handelsblatt Inside Digital Health released new prescription numbers from three leading health insurance companies (market share 65%), showing almost 40,000 prescriptions in the first half of 2022. Extrapolating this prescription number to the overall market, more than 61,000 DiGA have been prescribed and activated within the first six months - a strong signal that DiGA are becoming more and more a trusted and valuable therapy option.

Additional great news: Since a few weeks, DiGA can also be legally prescribed during hospital discharges. As a result, relevant healthcare stakeholders are being introduced to the DiGA model. As DiGA have traditionally and historically focused on the out-patient care setting, this decision is a great achievement for the German healthcare system. The increased access to DiGA can empower and support patients in their transition from a supervised hospital/clinic setting to ambulatory care.

Over the past weeks, we have noticed through direct exchange with numerous prescribers and healthcare professionals that DiGAs are becoming more and more embedded in healthcare:

• This year's coliquio Summit 2022 took place on May, 19th. More than 100 experts from the healthcare industry met in Berlin to discuss the "opportunities of the digitalisation of healthcare". HelloBetter's Head of Market Access, Gundula Schneidewind, MD, highlighted how HelloBetter can improve the patient journey. Digital health applications can bridge existing gaps in care - especially in the field of psychotherapy - and help patients receive effective support in a timely manner.

• At the Diabetes Congress 2022 (May, 25-28th, 2022) we were able to present HelloBetter and our DiGA "HelloBetter Diabetes & Depression" to many interested practitioners and win the first prize in the Startup Village. In the symposium "Vicious circle of diabetes and depression" HelloBetter's Head of Market Access Dr. med. Gundula Schneidewind was able to discuss innovative and effective treatment options in diabetology with luminaries of diabetes research Prof. Dr. Peter Schwarz and Prof. Dr. Bernhard Kulzer.

• German Congress for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy 2022 (June, 22-24th, 2022) in Berlin: There was a particularly high demand for our Stress and Burnout DiGA, both from outpatient and inpatient doctors and therapists.

• Hundreds of prescribers attended our numerous CME trainings and DiGA webinars in the last weeks and we see the rising interest in approved digital health applications among practitioners. As a result, we look forward to strengthening our relationships with prescribers and healthcare professionals. Over the coming months, we hope to bring more HelloBetter DiGAs into the DiGA directory.

---------------------------------------

If you would like to know more about HelloBetter, feel free to reach out to Daphne Petrich or Marius Mainz.