Commentary: Digital therapeutics companies have a lot to learn from the mental health care industry they are looking to disrupt

"If you spend time at conferences, reading industry publications, or on Linkedin and Twitter these days you’ll see an entire digital health industry admonishing traditional health care for being out of touch, slow to innovate, and resistant to change. The reality (as is often the case), is quite different from the hype.

The fact is, the health care industry is an innovation machine–but it remains cautious about digital solutions for a reason. Unlike digital health companies, success and failure in health care incumbents aren’t judged by their latest valuation (promise), but by life, death, patient results, and costs (value). Promise and value seldom arrive at the same time in health care–and digital health’s promise is still far from realized.

In short, they’ve “seen it before,” and are slow to jump on “innovations” that lack clear need, clear value, and validation. This scrutiny is a good thing. One day, we’ll all be patients and we’ll be better for it.

A mental health crisis

Yet there are areas where digital health could contribute, such as in mental health. America is in a mental health crisis. The nationwide shortage of mental health professionals combined with an enormous need has made finding timely access to affordable care painfully difficult.

Pre-pandemic statistics reported that more than half of the 50 million Americans diagnosed with a mental illness do not receive treatment. For as many as 60% of people who do receive care, it consists solely of a drug prescription–far too few receive psychosocial treatments which can teach them valuable skills and provide the confidence to navigate daily life, such as talk therapy or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)..." Lire la suite