Harnessing technology for diabetes care: a review of digital therapeutics

Digital therapeutics (DTx) has emerged as a transformative force in the contemporary medical arena, particularly in treating diabetes. The commercialisation and clinical application of DTx are expanding rapidly due to growing demand for innovative healthcare solutions. This narrative review intends to explore the spectrum of commercially available DTx interventions for diabetes care and how they address the research gaps. A targeted literature search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and grey literature was conducted and the synthesis of heterogenous evidence on clinical effectiveness of DTx, implementation barriers and limitations. Evidence indicates that DTx such as continuous glucose monitors and diabetes digital platforms can improve glycaemic control, self-management and outcomes through remote monitoring, interactive interfaces, real-time feedback, clinical decision support systems and tailored content based on individuals’ needs. However, challenges like limited long-term evidence, randomised controlled trials, health system readiness, access to technology, robust technologies, interoperability, seamless integration into existing system, geographical limitations, affordability, digital literacy and regulatory clarity still persist. There is a need for international consensus on DTx definitions and frameworks like the Digital Therapeutics Real-World Evidence framework that emphasise a pragmatic, iterative approach to generating and using real-world data to develop and validate DTx for scalable and long-term deployment. This review highlights the need to strengthen real-world evidence-based validation of DTx and for collaborative alignment among all stakeholders (ie, researchers, healthcare providers, technology developers, health technology assessment bodies, payers, governments and regulatory agencies) to enable successful adoption and integration of DTx into standard medical practice.