Digital Therapeutics Deliver Interventions Through High-quality Software Programmes: Dr Arbinder Singal
How do you think the Digital therapeutics market is evolving in current times and what opportunities is it bringing in healthcare?
According to recent statistics, the Digital Therapeutics market is expected to reach $22,601.97 million by 2031, at a CAGR of 19.4 per cent. This growth can be attributed to rising awareness about preventive healthcare and the benefits of digital therapeutics. Digital therapeutics revolves around delivering evidence-based interventions through high-quality software programmes. This helps in directing interventions towards a specific health condition and modifying persons living with diabetes behaviour for improving outcomes. The result is better management of health conditions and timely diagnosis.
In digital therapeutics, we identify an individual’s problem on the basis of their medical data and create a holistic strategy by combining diet modification, stress counselling, and exercise (under the supervision of a physiotherapist). kind of end-to-end approach works more effectively and complements the conventional practice of prescribing medication to control diabetes. This solution has been key to getting all-around outcomes. Apart from healthier markers, persons living with diabetes have also reported better sleep quality, less fatigue or stress and significant improvement in pain management through Digital Therapeutics (DTx) interventions.
Why do you think importance is placed more on clinical-based health outcomes with digital therapeutics?
Health outcomes which one can sustain in the long term are the hallmark of an effective digital therapeutic. Doctors and healthcare professionals play a very important and influential role in improving adoption for any DTx solution. Hence, real-world evidence to prove that the digital therapy works, becomes paramount in establishing credibility and trust.
How does prevention, management, and remission of diabetes work in digital therapeutics?
The approach to diabetes involves three aspects: prevention, management, and remission. This is both with regard to preventing the disease itself by making lifestyle changes or averting a further increase in blood sugar levels once the disease is diagnosed. Once a person understands the steps they need to take, the solutions can be tailored to manage their condition. Considering the impact diabetes makes on a person’s health and ability to combat other diseases, its reversal which is clinically known as remission is also a sought-after goal for caregivers. Through a single DTx platform, persons living with diabetes joining the program are guided towards precise nutrition and given a personalised approach to diet covering all three aspects of the condition: prevention, management, and remission.
They are provided with motivational and mental wellness support alongside a physical fitness regime. The coaches work closely with the doctors of the program members. The emphasis is on providing quality holistic support and empowering the persons living with diabetes to self-regulate their journey. As per our findings, there have been significant improvements in most of the cases.
What distinct approach has Fitterfly adopted for reducing the metabolic burden of corporate India?
Diabefly is a holistic programme that is helping corporates move away from a conventional check-list based approach to an outcome-based one. The focus is not just on ensuring that the persons living with diabetes took a medicine or got screening done, but on achieving results which make a direct and visible impact on improving productivity, reducing absenteeism and increasing presenteeism. By focusing on ensuring greater health and wellness outcomes, we are also able to support corporate houses in reducing their insurance bills and premium costs. We are working with Unilever, Godrej, Tata Steel, Procter and Gamble, United Phosphorus and other caring companies for employee wellness. We aim to have atleast 50 corporates on board by March 2023.
What role does Fitterfly play in the Diabetes management of children?
Unhealthy food habits, poor exercise adherence, and stress have been driving diabetes prevalence even among children. In the age of adolescence, all this can have an adverse effect on their physical and mental health alike. However, Fitterfly’s technology-driven approach has been highly effective in delivering desired outcomes in children through a personalised approach and encouraging behaviour change. Not only have their physical parameters such as waistline measurement improved but our programme has also had a very positive affect on their emotional health. We enable them to manage the emotional duress that diabetes brings apart from enabling them to regulate their blood sugar levels. In most cases, the children have also been able to completely go off medications. The scientific and technology-driven approach adopted by the programme clearly offers consistent benefits irrespective of age or gender.
