Value Assessment of Digital Health Technology - different from your traditional pharmaceuticals or medical device

What makes Digital Health Technologies so difficult to be reimbursed?

🔎 Its Value Assessment, different from traditional drugs or medical devices
 
⏩ The rapid, incremental, iterative nature of digital health technologies make them stand out from traditional drugs or medical devices, making their evaluation more challenging. Their value would be under-appreciated, impacting the willingness-to-pay, purchasing, and funding/reimbursement decisions.
 
📚 The traditional methods of evaluation designed for static products (randomized double-blinded clinical trials, eg.) would more difficult to be conducted practically, due to the frequent updates and changes.
 
👨‍👩‍👧 Moreover, the causal effect between the intervention and the outcome of interest is not linear with digital health technologies, as with traditional health products. Variability in how users interact with these technologies can significantly impact their performance and outcome, a factor that traditional evaluation methods for drugs or devices might not fully account for.
 
🏥 Lastly, digital health technologies integration into existing healthcare systems often requires a disruption of workflow and organisational change. Their health economic benefits can vary widely depending on the specifics of the healthcare system.