2Morrow is embarking on a second study for a smoking cessation smartphone app it created with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. It follows a clinical trial last year that showed higher quit rates than for Quitguides distributed by state programs, health plans and employers.
The second study is supported by a grant from the Life Sciences Discovery Fund and will evaluate the app’s effectiveness among employers following modifications to the program features.
Of all the challenges that digital health and biotech companies have set themselves, smoking cessation is one of the largest. Although the percentage of people who smoke (19 percent) is less than half what it was 50 years ago (42 percent), 8.6 million have a smoking-related illness and more than 440,000 die from smoking related causes each year.Current data puts the rate of people who try to quit but take up the habit again at up to 80 percent.
Behavioral Health, Interoperability and eConsent: Meeting the Demands of CMS Final Rule Compliance
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
SmartQuit has a six month program that uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Smokers create a personal plan. They identify triggers that lead them to smoke and learn new ways to deal with those urges, rather than ignoring them. A randomized controlled trial of the app last year found that overall quit rates for the app were 13 percent compared with 8 percent for QuitGuide — a smoking cessation app developed by the Tobacco Control Research division of the National Cancer Institute with tobacco control professionals and smoking cessation experts. Researchers chose to use QuitGuide for the control group in the first study because it was based on government recommendations and no other smoking cessation apps had been though a clinical trial.
A follow up evaluation of the app by researchers at Fred Hutch Cancer Center to improve on its performance in the clinical study found that only two of the top 10 most-used features on the app were prospectively associated with 30 days abstinence at the 60-day follow-up: viewing the quit plan and tracking the practice of letting urges pass. It also calculated that there were about 400 smartphone apps on the market to help people quit smoking. These apps are downloaded about 780,000 times each month, and yet there’s relatively little research to demonstrate the effectiveness of these approaches.
The second study that will examine a few things, according to an emailed responses to questions by Jo Masterson, 2Morrow COO. It will review the effectiveness of its program following minor changes based on takeaways from the clinical trial. It is also evaluating the distribution model. It is seeking more than 100 smokers who want to quit and meet other screening criteria on their smoking habits outlined in the application.
“Most smoking cessation programs (Quitlines) are provided by state programs, health plans or employers. For this study, we wanted to see if this same distribution model worked for SmartQuit (is it useful in a real world setting),” Masterson said. It’s also seeking feedback from employers and other groups on whether the program and reporting works for the groups that offer these programs.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The study is being promoted mostly through employer groups. Enrollment is open until March 15th. Employers interested in participating can submit applications here.
Last month, Washington state’s department of health said it would make the first 1,900 downloads of SmartQuit available for free. After that, the app will be available for about $50.
