Digital therapeutics in the primary healthcare setting

Abstract

<p>We are living in the fourth industrial revolution (Schwabb, 2016). Moving beyond the technology seen in the third, or digital, revolution we are seeing an increase in robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, blockchain, 3D printing, and more. This new era sees the boundaries blurring even further between technology and the human experience, and understandably this has a significant impact upon the illness and healthcare experience (Schwabb, 2016). Unsurprisingly then we are seeing a dramatic increase in the uptake of technology in all areas of healthcare, including nursing (Ferguson & Jackson, 2017).</p><p> In a recent editorial in <i>Contemporary Nurse</i>, Ferguson, Hickman, Wright, Davidson, and Jackson (2018) make a compelling and persuasive argument about nurses becoming prescribers and pioneers for digital therapeutics. The editorial examines some of these technologies, their efficacy, as well as the limitations and concerns involved so far. Ferguson et al. (2018) deliver an exciting vision of the future that makes the case for nurses as frontline prescribers of digital therapeutics believable and compelling. As primary healthcare (PHC) nurses, where do we fit into this vision of the future, and is it really as golden as the authors have described?</p>