디지털 치료기기에 대한 인식조사

Abstract

In recent years, discussions around the question of whether digital therapeutics(DTx) should be covered by National Health Insurance(NHI) have progressed, but whether users will accept this new technology once it is introduced to the market remains uncertain. Therefore, this study is intended to provide foundational data to inform NHI policies by investigating perceptions of DTx among members of the public and physicians, who will be the actual users of DTx. To this end, we conducted a survey of 1,500 members from the general public and 250 physicians. The survey was intended to assess their perceptions of and attitudes toward digital health and DTx, the perceived usefulness of such technology, and both their willingness to use and willingness to pay for such technology. Survey results showed that the awareness of DTx among the general public was low, at 19.5%, while it was 79.2% among physicians. Among the general public, 57.8% of respondents responded that DTx would be “helpful” in their treatment, while 72.0% of physicians responded that DTx would be “helpful” in treating their patients; 53.8% of the general public and 78.4% of physicians expressed a willingness to use DTx in the future. Respondents expected that DTx would reduce the hassle and cost of visiting healthcare facilities and meet the needs for treating and managing their diseases on a daily basis. However, low trust in the therapeutic effectiveness of DTx limits people’s willingness to use it in the future. In this study, two scenarios were used to assess the perceived value of DTx: “an application for sleep disorders” and “a VR(virtual reality) program for post-stroke rehabilitation.” Fifty-one percent of the general public and 36.4–36.8% of physicians stated that DTx should cost less than existing treatments. Moreover, members of the general public were willing to pay 12,650~35,477 KRW, and physicians were willing to pay 35,477~50,590 KRW. In conclusion, this study highlights the need to increase awareness of DTx. It also identifies a mismatch between groups who are expected to find DTx useful(those with high medical needs or those whose needs were not met under the current system) and those willing to use them(younger groups with technological capabilities). Moreover, concerns about “effectiveness” are the most prominent issue identified in this study. Given that patient acceptance is essential for adherence to treatment, it is important to initially target groups with a high willingness to use DTx and accumulate positive results from them. Meanwhile , it is essential to remove barriers for patients who could benefit from the use of DTx. While initial users may be attracted by interest in new technology alone, increasing the use of DTx among patients with higher needs requires accumulating trust through positive experiences and clear evidence from initial users. Finally, the achievements and limitations of DTx should be continuously evaluated to achieve a better understanding of the health insurance coverage implications of such devices when new forms of medical technology are introduced in the future.