Tackling opioid crisis with software

Researchers: Smartphone technology may be well-suited to therapy for addiction

WASHINGTON: Technology firms are taking aim at the opioid crisis and related health problems with a new class of treatments – digital therapeutics – delivered by smartphone.

These new treatments, backed by medical research and offered by prescription, are seen as potential ways to supplement, and in some cases replace, pharmaceuticals to treat addiction and an array of other mental and physical health issues.

Smartphone technology may be well-suited to behavioural therapy for addiction, depression and other disorders by making treatment more accessible and trackable by medical professionals, researchers say.

“Digital therapeutics are validated scientific treatments delivered in the form of software, which can increase access and provide an immediacy,” said Yuri Maricich, head of the clinical and regulatory team at Pear Therapeutics.

The company has received approval in the United States for apps to treat opioid addiction and other kinds of substance abuse.

“It’s the same level of rigour (as pharmaceuticals) in terms of how the products are manufactured. We’ve run randomised clinic trials to make sure it produces the desired outcome and that it is safe,” Maricich said.

In January, Pear launched in coordination with Novartis unit Sandoz the reSET-O prescription digital therapeutic 12-week cognitive behavioural therapy to treat opioid addiction after receiving approval by the US Food and Drug Administration.

It is offered with the commonly used medication buprenorphine for adults under the care of a therapist.

The app includes a dashboard that allows medical teams to monitor a patient’s progress and offer reminders and training. The patient follows on-screen prompts by answering quiz questions, reporting medication usage and reporting substance use, cravings and triggers.

The goal of these apps is to “reprogramme” the brain’s rewards system once it has been distorted by addictive substances.

With these technologies, “you disrupt that behaviour chain and learn new skills to make lifestyle changes to stop self-defeating patterns”, said Lisa Marsch, director of the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health at Dartmouth University, which has conducted trials with Pear and other firms.

Marsch said research has been ongoing on digital therapies for decades but that the growth in smartphones has made it easier to deliver such care.

“People can use it 24/7 as a clinician in their pocket,” she said.