Presenter: Will M. Aklin, PhD, Director, Behavioral Therapy Development Program, Division of Therapeutics and Medical Consequences (DTMC), NIH, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)  

Target Audience: This activity is designed for physicians, nurse practitioners or other advanced practice nurses, PAs, and pharmacists. This activity is accredited for physicians, nurse practitioners or other advanced practice nurses, PAs, and pharmacists.

Webinar Description: There are effective treatments for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), though they do not work for all patients and efficacy decreases over the long-term. As evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional methods of delivering treatment have limitations and can be difficult or even impossible to access. Thus, there is an urgent need for new therapeutic options. This webinar will highlight research to support the development of safe and effective Digital Therapeutics (DTx), discuss strategies to accelerate their delivery to patients, and improve SUD treatment outcomes. DTx, a subset of digital health, consists of high-quality software programs to prevent, manage, or treat medical conditions. DTx that meet the definition of a medical device go through an FDA regulatory review process to be legally marketed in the US. The ultimate goal of this webinar is to illuminate NIH-research priorities and clinically validated DTx options for patients with SUDs. 

Educational Objectives:

• Discern which technologies constitute digital therapeutics
• Gain an understanding of digital therapeutics as stand-alone treatments or integrated with FDA-approved substance use disorder treatments
• Learn about the FDA authorization process for digital therapeutics