Personal Connected Health Alliance enters 2 collaborations

Initiatives with associations seek to assess how digital tools will aid consumers health, says Pierre Leurent.


The Personal Connected Health Alliance has formed alliances with two emerging healthcare organizations to advance work on digital health initiatives.

In addition, the PCHA has started a new Digital Therapeutics Task Force to advance work in digital technologies to improve patients’ health.

PCHA, a non-profit organization formed by HIMSS, announced a strategic partnership with the newly formed Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA). The organizations said the relationship will combine the infrastructure, reach and resources of PCHA and the expertise, thought leadership and focus of DTA.

Digital therapeutics refers to digital technology or software to treat a medical condition, used alone and in combination with conventional drug therapies. Digital therapeutics include mobile apps, wearable sensors, health monitoring devices or software.

Digital therapeutics companies are developing clinically validated tools with the goal of improving value and lowering costs, particularly using digital tools to improve disease management. "The field is evolving, so there is a need for digital therapeutics companies to come together, to clearly delineate the market, define the benefits and secure regulatory, reimbursement, provider and policy support," says Pierre Leurent, CEO of Voluntis, a PCHA member organization and one of the founding members of DTA.

The organizations will work together on the task force, which will draw on DTA's subject matter expertise to focus on an initial set of high priority projects for both organizations. Leurent will serve as the task force chair.



In a second initiative, PCHA and the health and fitness division of the Consumer Technology Association have entered a strategic collaboration to work on digital therapeutics, which typically uses software that can improve a patient’s health.

The organizations say this collaboration will study the current demand, adoption and market trends related to digital therapeutics among patients and healthcare professionals.

The field of digital therapeutics, a subset of personal connected health, is gaining attention as an alternative or enhancement of drug or in-person treatment. Executives of the PCHA and CTA say they expect to produce recommendations supporting a multi-year, multi-stakeholder collaboration to increase awareness, evidence and adoption of proven digital therapeutics approaches.

CTA is the trade association representing the U.S. consumer technology industry and has more than 2,200 companies as members.

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