One of the more promising medical inventions in recent years isn’t a new drug. It’s a digital tool.

Digital therapeutics, or DTx, is software that lets patients treat, manage or even prevent medical conditions at home on their phone.

“These are therapies that are prescribed for patients by their doctors. They’ve demonstrated therapeutic value in clinical trials,” says professor Joseph Cafazzo, the Wolfond chair in digital health and executive director of biomedical engineering at the University Health Network in Toronto.

Yet despite proven effectiveness in treating patients, uptake of digital therapies among doctors has often been slow. A 2022 German study found that just 14 per cent of healthcare professionals prescribed at least one DTx in the first year after it became part of Germany’s standard healthcare regime.

That led Cafazzo and fellow researchers to wonder: What are doctors’ attitudes towards digital therapeutics and what prevents them from offering these to patients?

To find out, they surveyed Italian diabetes specialists. Their findings, published in the paper “Therapies go digital: What drives physicians’ acceptance?” uncovered practical ways to expand use in hospitals.

The study’s timing is critical.

A growing number of digital therapeutics are becoming available for chronic conditions ranging from depression to diabetes. The global DTx market is expected to surge in value – to US$30 billion by 2029 up from US$9 billion in 2024, an annualized growth rate of 28.6 per cent driven by demand for personalized care, increases in chronic diseases and other factors.

Studies on digital therapeutics are encouraging. Some show these tools can enhance care at home for patients with cancer, diabetes and Parkinson’s while reducing the costs of managing diseases for overburdened health-care systems.

The technology can also offer convenience. It can be delivered in a patient’s language, so it’s accessible across borders and cultures, Cafazzo says. In rural or developing regions where in-person visits are difficult, all that’s needed is a phone.

Take heart failure patients, for example. “Heart failure is one of the top reasons for rehospitalization,” says Cafazzo. “It’s a terrible burden on hospitals because it’s a revolving door for these patients.”

With digital therapeutics, patients can track their condition from home using their phone. They can record blood pressure, track their weight and answer daily questions to flag warning signs early. The system can also generate alerts, which medical professionals can act on. For families, this means fewer panicked trips to the ER. For hospitals, it means fewer readmissions. A 2020 study Cafazzo co-authored found a 50 per cent decrease in heart-failure-related hospitalizations for patients involved in a digital telemonitoring program.

But for digital therapeutics to take hold, hospitals must take steps to make it easier for doctors to prescribe them. Cafazzo and his colleagues’ study highlighted several suggestions.

First, when introducing DTx, hospital administrators should focus on the user experience of doctors. They’re more likely to prescribe DTx if systems are seamlessly integrated into hospital infrastructure. That means planning capacity, building DTx into existing workflows and ensuring IT support.

That’s no small task, Cafazzo admits. Hospital IT departments are already stretched thin. But making digital therapeutics easy for physicians to access is critical.

“There are so few minutes in the day for clinicians. If these systems are not made simple to use, then there’s going to be a problem.”

Next, leverage peer influence. The study found that doctors were more likely to prescribe DTx when they saw colleagues using them.

Using “peer champions” to showcase effectiveness, Cafazzo says, can help persuade other doctors of DTx efficacy.  “There’s so much medical innovation going on from a technology standpoint, doctors simply can’t try everything. But they don’t want to be left out of something that will emerge as standard care. So other physicians’ experiences with digital therapeutics matter.”

Governments can also help accelerate adoption. While European countries such as Germany have led the way in adding digital therapeutics to their healthcare systems, North America still lags – though that may start to change. A U.S. Senate bill would expand Medicare coverage to include prescribed digital therapeutics. Canada has some catching up to do, but in September 2025 the Ontario government launched the Health Innovation Pathway to evaluate new health-tech solutions, which could include digital therapeutics.

While these tools don’t entirely replace in-person visits, proponents say DTx can improve access, make the system more efficient and deliver better outcomes. That’s especially critical in countries like Canada where an aging population is straining healthcare while governments grapple with costs and hospitals face staff shortages.

“With so many people without a family doctor, and long wait times to see specialists, digital therapeutics can help increase access for patients,” Cafazzo says. “It’s not the only solution, but it is one that can help provide better outcomes.”