SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2020
How to Value Digital Health Interventions? A Systematic Literature Review.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Digital health interventions for promoting adults lifestyle behaviors: who is being left behind? An evidence synthesis of social inequality.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026Pooled it
- Evaluations of digital public health interventions in the WHO Southeast Asia Region: a systematic literature review.International journal of technology assessment in health care · 2024Pooled it
- Evaluation of Digital Mental Health Technologies in the United States: Systematic Literature Review and Framework Synthesis.JMIR mental health · 2024Pooled it
- Economic Evaluation Associated With Clinical-Grade Mobile App-Based Digital Therapeutic Interventions: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Analytical Frameworks and Outcome Measures in Economic Evaluations of Digital Health Interventions: A Methodological Systematic Review.Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2023Pooled it
- Digital Interventions on Healthy Lifestyle Management: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Evaluating a Digital Health Tool Designed to Improve Low Sexual Desire in Women: Mixed-Methods Implementation Science Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- Impacts of a Statewide Prescription Drug Monitoring Program-Healthcare Practitioner Perspectives.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2026Article
- The Analytical Framework of Clinical Trials Evaluating Clinical Outcomes of Artificial Intelligence-Based Digital Health Interventions: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of market access & health policy · 2026Review
- Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Chatbot-Supported Remote Patient Monitoring for Anticoagulation Management: Health Economic Evaluation Within a Pilot Crossover Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Frameworks for assessing digital health technologies: a scoping review.International journal of technology assessment in health care · 2026Article
- Digitally delivered, systemically challenged: A qualitative study of health system readiness for digital care.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- The value for money of artificial intelligence-empowered precision medicine: a systematic review and regression analysis.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- An Overview on Methods, Evidence, and Study Quality of Health Economic Evaluation Studies for Independently Usable Digital Health Apps: Rapid Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Review
- Mapping methodologies for economic assessment of digital health technologies: a scoping review protocol.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Application of an Innovative Methodology to Build Infrastructure for Digital Transformation of Health Systems: Developmental Program Evaluation.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- A group concept mapping study of stakeholder perspectives on digital therapeutics economic value drivers.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Cost-effectiveness analysis of mHealth applications for depression in Germany using a Markov cohort simulation.NPJ digital medicine · 2024Article
- Negotiating pricing and payment terms for insurance covered mHealth apps: a qualitative content analysis and taxonomy development based on a German experience.Health economics review · 2024Article
- "Towards harmonizing assessment and reimbursement of digital medical devices in the EU through mutual learning".NPJ digital medicine · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In Europe, there were almost twice as many patents granted for medical technology (13,795) compared to pharmaceuticals (7441) in 2018. It is important to ask how to integrate such an amount of innovations into routine clinical practice and how to measure the value it brings to the healthcare system. Given the novelty of digital health interventions (DHI), one can even question whether the quality-adjusted life years (QALY) approach developed for pharmaceuticals can be used or whether we need to develop a new DHI's value assessment framework. We conducted a systematic literature review of published DHIs' assessment guidelines. Each publication was analyzed with a 12-items checklist based on a EUnetHTA core model enriched with additional criteria such as usability, interoperability, and data security. In total, 11 value assessment guidelines were identified. The review revealed that safety, clinical effectiveness, usability, economic aspects, and interoperability were most often discussed (seven out of 11). More than half of the guidelines addressed organizational impact, data security, choice of comparator, and technical considerations (six out of 11). The unmet medical needs (three out of 11), along with the ethical (two out of 11) and legal aspects (one out of 11), were given the least attention. No author provided an analytical framework for the calculation of clinical and economic outcomes. We elicited five recommendations for the choice of DHI's value criteria and a methodological suggestion for the pricing and reimbursement framework. Our conclusions lead to the need for a new DHI's value assessment framework instead of a QALY approach.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.