Northwell Health and Pear Therapeutics have linked up to allow patients seeking treatment for opioid and substance misuse to have access to prescription digital therapy.
The New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based health system will provide digital care to patients by offering access to Pear's reSET and reSET-O. They are the first prescription digital therapy to be FDA-approved to treat disease. They use game-like visual simulations to make permanent changes in the visual cortex and offer an alternative to traditional prescription drugs.
The program will be offered through Northwell's standalone behavioral health facility, Zucker Hillside Hospital. Both products work with outpatient counseling and provide patients with algorithm-driven cognitive behavioral therapy and contingency management, while therapists can access this data to inform in-office and telehealth visits.
"We are witnessing a substantial increase in substance misuse and opioid overdose death as a result of the social isolation, anxiety and stress related to COVID-19," said Bruce Goldman, director of behavioral health at Northwell Health. "Northwell Health has successfully transformed our ambulatory substance use treatment services to a telehealth model. To augment our treatment services, we have made available to our patients this FDA-authorized prescription digital therapeutic proven to increase the retention of patients in outpatient treatment programs."