Developing Digital Therapeutics for Chronic Pain in Primary Care: A Qualitative Human-Centered Design Study of Providers' Motivations and Challenges

Digital Therapeutics for Improving Effectiveness of Pharmaceutical Drugs and Biological Products: Preclinical and Clinical Studies Supporting Development of Drug + Digital Combination Therapies for Chronic Diseases

Limitations of pharmaceutical drugs and biologics for chronic diseases (e.g., medication non-adherence, adverse effects, toxicity, or inadequate efficacy) can be mitigated by mobile medical apps, known as digital therapeutics (DTx). Authorization of adjunct DTx by the US Food and Drug Administration and draft guidelines on "prescription drug use-related software" illustrate opportunities to create drug + digital combination therapies, ultimately leading towards drug-device combination products (DTx has a status of medical devices). Digital interventions (mobile, web-based, virtual reality, and video game applications) demonstrate clinically meaningful benefits for people living with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy, depression, and anxiety. In the respective animal disease models, preclinical studies on environmental enrichment and other non-pharmacological modalities (physical activity, social interactions, learning, and music) as surrogates for DTx "active ingredients" also show improved outcomes. In this narrative review, we discuss how drug + digital combination therapies can impact translational research, drug discovery and development, generic drug repurposing, and gene therapies. Market-driven incentives to create drug-device combination products are illustrated by Humira® (adalimumab) facing a "patent-cliff" competition with cheaper and more effective biosimilars seamlessly integrated with DTx. In conclusion, pharma and biotech companies, patients, and healthcare professionals will benefit from accelerating integration of digital interventions with pharmacotherapies.

Experience and usability of a website containing research-based knowledge and tools for pain self-management: a mixed-method study in people with high-impact chronic pain

OBJECTIVES

Smerteinfo.dk is a freely accessible Danish website containing research-based, up-to-date knowledge on chronic pain, written in lay language, with a focus on information, guidance and self-management tools, developed in collaboration between health professionals and persons with high-impact chronic pain. This mixed-method study explored experiences, perceived usability, and challenges of Smerteinfo among patients with high-impact chronic pain.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews enabling thinking-aloud and participant observation while using Smerteinfo were performed in 11 patients with high-impact chronic pain. Survey data were collected three months after being invited to use Smerteinfo among 200 patients on waiting-list at a Pain Center in Denmark.

RESULTS

Three themes captured the depth and variation in patterns of experiences, usability and challenges using Smerteinfo during interviews: 1) Appreciated easy access to new knowledge yet strived for more personalized information, 2) Experienced incentives as well as challenges when navigating the website, and 3) Suggested earlier introduction to the website. Challenges concerned the unknown update frequency of the website, information consisting of mostly text and many links, lack of material to improve self-management and too general information. Survey data revealed that 87 % found the language in the articles easy to understand and 73 % could recognize themselves and their challenges in the articles. A proportion of the respondents reported improved understanding of their pain condition (56 %), improved coping (33 %), and that they had made changes in their everyday life after reading on the website (33 %).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with high-impact chronic pain found Smerteinfo valuable. The results suggest attention towards spreading knowledge of the website to general practitioners, who could introduce the site at an earlier stage of illness. Continuously improving the site and expand the applicable tools based on scientific evidence and in collaboration with end-users are crucial to ensure the usability of the website in the future.

"Making Data the Drug": A Pragmatic Pilot Feasibility Randomized Crossover Trial of Data Visualization as an Intervention for Pediatric Chronic Pain

Data tracking is a common feature of pain e-health applications, however, viewing visualizations of this data has not been investigated for its potential as an intervention itself. We conducted a pilot feasibility parallel randomized cross-over trial, 1:1 allocation ratio. Participants were youth age 12-18 years recruited from a tertiary-level pediatric chronic pain clinic in Western Canada. Participants completed two weeks of Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) data collection, one of which also included access to a data visualization platform to view their results. Order of weeks was randomized, participants were not masked to group assignment. Objectives were to establish feasibility related to recruitment, retention, and participant experience. Of 146 youth approached, 48 were eligible and consented to participation, two actively withdrew prior to the EMA. Most participants reported satisfaction with the process and provided feedback on additional variables of interest. Technical issues with the data collection platform impacted participant experience and data analysis, and only 48% viewed the visualizations. Four youth reported adverse events not related to visualizations. Data visualization offers a promising clinical tool, and patient experience feedback is critical to modifying the platform and addressing technical issues to prepare for deployment in a larger trial.