Digital Health Initiatives in Chronic Disease Management: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Chronic diseases are the largest contributors to the Global Burden of
Disease. As per a report (June 2021) published by World Health
Organization (WHO), 41 million people died of non-communicable
diseases. Remote patient engagement assumed unprecedented
importance as managing chronic diseases was a global priority.
Digital health initiatives (DHI) in the form of mobile health (mhealth)
apps, connected health, e-health, beyond-the-pill, and wearable
devices gained prominence for remote patient engagement. It has
been established that DHI have the potential to impact patient
engagement and treatment outcomes in non-communicable
diseases (NCD). These were adopted by healthcare providers,
government entities, patients, and pharmaceutical companies. The
objective of this research paper is to study the DHI adopted by major
pharmaceutical companies which are focused on managing chronic
diseases. This was an exploratory study as scant scholarly work was
done by keeping the company (pharmaceutical companies) in mind.