OBJECTIVES

: Digital health technologies (DHT) became a strategic solution for strengthening and optimising health system capacity and limiting virus spread during the COVID-19 crisis. Thus, several initiatives were taken to support access to DHT during the pandemic. The objective is to review policies aimed to support development and access to DHT during COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

: Targeted review of policies was conducted in Europe, the United States (US) and Australia. Information was identified in The Health System Response Monitor database and was complemented by the hand-search in the web-based resources.

RESULTS

: Most of the DHT policies were aimed to support communication, monitoring, and surveillance during COVID-19 pandemic. The support was mainly related to reimbursement of teleconsultations, which have been either expanded (Belgium, Germany, France, US, and Australia) or introduced (Poland). In Scotland, an initiative was launched which combines regulatory support and dedicated funding for innovations (including DHT) to fight against COVID-19. Moreover, European Union Member States supported by the European Commission adopted guidelines to use mobile applications for privacy-preserving contact tracing and warnings about situations of increased risk of infection. In the US, the Food and Drug Agency issued Policy for Digital Health Devices for Treating Psychiatric Disorders during COVID-19. Moreover, the agency loosened some restrictions related to special controls for DHT, provided examples of software for COVID-19 applications that would not be regulated under existing framework, and expressed willingness to engage through Emergency Use Authorization process for higher-risk DHT.

CONCLUSIONS

: The current situation is accelerating the adoption of DHT enormously. Temporary alleviating of regulatory restrictions and wider coverage of specific DHT significantly contributes to the increased adoption of DHT. Whether the policies and funding of DHT are sustained will depend on how these solutions prove their usability and reliability during the pandemic as well as in the general clinical practice in post-pandemic era.