Phable study shows Digital Therapeutics is the game changer in chronic disease management

Team L&M

Clinical studies conducted for Hypertension and Type 2 Diabetes by India’s largest Chronic Disease Management App Phable has found that digital therapeutics (DTx) intervention, applied through Phable’s proprietary algorithm and smartphone devices, helped these chronic disease patients regain control of their health.
Both Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension are called lifestyle diseases because their risk factors are linked to one’s way of living. The management of these conditions requires regular self-monitoring and behavior change, which seem like the easiest things to do but are difficult to stick to. Health-related behavior change needs consistency and constant nudging to become an implementable reality.
Technology-driven behavioral changes powered by Phable’s algorithm and applied through a smartphone can be the constant companion that chronic disease patients need. Using smartphones, wearables, and monitoring devices, patients can self-monitor their health parameters and report them to the Phable app. Phable’s proprietary algorithm takes in the health signals and suggests suitable actions to help drive behaviour change and treatment adherence in patients. Thus, chronic disease patients can take control of their health.
Speaking on the results from the clinical studies, Dr Suhas Patil, Health Strategy Lead, Phable, stated, “The studies were conducted to irrefutably demonstrate that a smartphone – an everyday device, can help monitor as well as manage chronic diseases, through precision in therapy and personalisation of treatment. DTx, which makes use of mobile applications and analytics, can help achieve remission of chronic diseases. A sustained DTx intervention, over time, will help patients lower their dependency on medicines. These studies bring out the importance and urgency of DTx adoption to lead healthier lives.”

Type 2 Diabetes 
The study on the role of Digital Therapeutics in the management of Type 2 Diabetes was conducted over a period of 12 weeks in patients. The DTx intervention included a specifically designed interactive and algorithmic management of diet, physical movement, health education, and self-monitoring via the Phable App.
The study found that patients with Type 2 Diabetes benefited significantly from Phable’s proprietary Diabetes Management program, as seen by a reduction of their HbA1c values (an average of blood glucose levels in the past 3 months) at the end of the 12-week period. Patients with higher severity of Diabetes saw a significantly greater improvement in blood sugar control. It was also found that patients who had been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes within the last one year saw much greater benefits from the digital therapeutic intervention.
As per the results, after 12 weeks, patients with HbA1c levels more than 8 per cent showed a change in HbA1c of -1.45 per cent. Also, patients of less than one year duration showed a change in HbA1c of 1.96 per cent.

Hypertension
The study on blood pressure control was conducted over 12 weeks on patients with uncontrolled hypertension (BP more than 140/90 mmHg) under stable treatment. The interventions under DTx included proprietary algorithmic management of hypertension through dietary modification, stress management, physical activity, patient education, and self-monitoring.
The results showed that the mean blood pressure of the patients reduced by 28/19 mmHg from a baseline reading of 155/100 mmHg to 127/82 mmHg. Amongst the patients, 82.4 per cent achieved the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommended goal of systolic blood pressure less than 140 mmHg. Also, 67.6 per cent of patients returned to controlled blood pressure levels of less 140/90 mmHg and 35.2 per cent achieved the optimum blood pressure reading of less than 130/80 mmHg. Notably, as the severity of hypertension increased, the benefit in terms of reduction in blood pressure also increased.