pharmaphorum March 25, 2022
In January, PLOS Digital Health published a study which claimed that there’s “sparse” data to support the efficacy of most mental health apps.
In their meta-analysis of published studies, the authors found universal deficiencies and concluded that there’s no convincing evidence that app-based interventions deliver meaningful outcomes. Without digging further, one might think the current case for digital therapeutics is weak.
I reviewed all 14 meta-analyses included in the study and found the analysis to be accurate, but incomplete.
These analyses focused exclusively on wellness and smoking cessation apps, bypassing a category of digital therapeutics regulated by the FDA that make scientifically validated claims using sound research.
The Missing Context: Wellness Apps vs. Digital Therapeutics
There are approximately 20,000 mental...