Regulatory considerations to keep pace with innovation in digital health products
- PMID: 35986056
- PMCID: PMC9390099
- DOI: 10.1038/s41746-022-00668-9
Regulatory considerations to keep pace with innovation in digital health products
Abstract
Rapid innovation and proliferation of software as a medical device have accelerated the clinical use of digital technologies across a wide array of medical conditions. Current regulatory pathways were developed for traditional (hardware) medical devices and offer a useful structure, but the evolution of digital devices requires concomitant innovation in regulatory approaches to maximize the potential benefits of these emerging technologies. A number of specific adaptations could strengthen current regulatory oversight while promoting ongoing innovation.
© 2022. The Author(s).
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no competing interests. A.D.S. is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Society for Digital Medicine and a member of the Strategic Advisory Board of HumanFirst. She declares consulting income from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unrelated to the topic of this article. F.T.B. is a Co-Director of the Harvard-MIT Center for Regulatory Science and receives support from the Center unrelated to the current work. J.T. is a co-founder of Precision Mental Wellness, unrelated to this work. J.T. is an Associate Editor of npj Digital Medicine.
References
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- Spanou, Despina. Software as a Medical Device (SaMD): Key Definitions (International Device Regulators Forum, 2013).
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- Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. Digital Health Technologies as an Adjunct to Medication Assisted Therapy for Opioid Use Disorder: Final Evidence Report. (2020).
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- IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science. Digital Health Trends 2021: Innovation, Evidence, Regulation, and Adoption. (2021).
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