Navigating the DiGA jungle: A taxonomy and archetypal framework of the German digital therapeutics landscape

Digital therapeutics (DTx) are patient-facing apps designed to support individuals in their daily lives. Therefore, they have the potential to revolutionize healthcare by empowering and engaging patients as active stakeholders in their own care. Despite the increasing adoption of DTx in national healthcare systems, research on their design remains limited.

The present research article introduces "DiGATax", a taxonomy designed to categorize and analyze DTx, including perspectives on content, intervention delivery logic and technology, as well as the patient's interface, consolidating and expanding upon prior taxonomic work.

The taxonomy was created through a multi-method approach, combining a systematic review of existing digital health taxonomies with a qualitative analysis of n = 44 evidence-based, permanently listed applications from the German DiGA directory. Additionally, a taxonomy-based cluster analysis was performed to identify archetypes in the current DTx landscape.

The proposed taxonomy comprises 19 dimensions and 108 characteristics, enabling a systematic classification and discussion of existing applications. Cluster analysis identified three archetypes: personal goal-centered, gameful designed, and conversational-driven, with the latter dividing into two subtypes. Additional exploratory analyses examined the user interface as a potential factor associated with user acceptance and explored possible links between DTx design, health-related and engagement outcomes.

By offering new insights into DTx design, this study contributes towards more organized research and reporting, ultimately paving the way for the development of effective solutions. It also marks a further step towards Meta-DTx, which aim to align patient care for multimorbid patients under one umbrella.