South Korea Lays Groundwork for Insurance Reimbursement of Digital Therapeutics Technologies

With software-driven therapeutic interventions for patient treatments known as digital therapeutics (DTx) beginning to make a mark in the world of patient care, the government of South Korea is beginning to lay the groundwork for the entrance of the technologies into its market.

Over the summer the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA), the agency responsible for claims review of the country’s national health insurance system, began considering how to set insurance reimbursement rates for DTx technologies. The move follows a decision last year by Korean health officials to create guidelines for the review and approval of the technologies.

Digital therapeutics are rapidly becoming more important in the prevention and treatment of disease. The therapeutics use a variety of digital implements, including mobile devices, apps, sensors, desktop computers, and various Internet of Things devices that can collect high volumes of data.