Through this study, empirica and i~HD will support SITRA, the Finnish Innovation Fund, in its mission to promote Finland’s competitiveness and its use of health data. SITRA has identified a shortcoming in its introduction of digital innovations in healthcare, compared to other sectors, whose uptake by the sector is low. Given that Finland has one of the most comprehensive data governance legal frameworks in place as well as an established organisational framework to support its implementation (FINDATA), the scope of the study is quite precisely focused on the challenge of how to regulate, integrate, use and reimburse DTx. DTx, as defined by the Digital Therapeutics Alliance, have been recognised as health technologies that should form an integral part of care in environments that have sufficiently deployed digital health services.

The team will carry out an analysis of five advanced European countries in the field of DTx (Germany, Belgium, France, the UK and the Region of Catalunya), focusing on how the DTx are regulated, reimbursed, integrated in the different healthcare systems and evaluated. Besides a literature review, planned activities include online expert interviews, a validation workshop, and elaboration of recommendations that will address current gaps in DTx implementation in Finland.