empirica participated in a study for Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, aimed at understanding how digital therapeutics ca be used in European health systems. Digital therapeutics are evidence-based digital medical treatments that offer great potential for businesses, health systems, patients and national financiers by providing better care and lower costs, empowering patients and creating new business.

The team analysed the way digital therapeutics are used or planned to be used in five countries and regions: Germany, France, Belgium, England and Catalonia. The analysis included desk research as well as interviews with digital therapeutics providers and public officials involved in running national or regional digital therapeutics programmes. The study included an international workshop bringing together different relevant stakeholders, who discussed how Europe could benefit from a unified market for digital therapeutics and digital health solutions in general, and how European countries can build pathways for certification, market access and design integration of digital therapeutics into health systems. This allowed to formulate recommendations for national approaches and European alignment for digital therapeutics.

empirica had a leading role in the desk research and interview conduction in the study and supported the organisation of the workshop. The study was carried out in 2021 with and for Sitra by empirica and the European Institute for Innovation through Health Data. The final study paper can be downloaded here: https://www.sitra.fi/en/publications/how-can-digital-therapeutics-help-europe/.