Through our activities in venture capital, Digitalis had seen and worked on a growing number of digital medicine opportunities, but we were struck by the lack of a common definition for the domain, and a lack of coherence in its practices and organization. In considering ways forward for the field, we encountered the nascent Digital Medicine (DiMe) Society and became a founding financial sponsor.
In May 2019, the Digital Medicine (DiMe) Society with support from the Digitalis Commons became the first professional society for practitioners of digital medicine. Although organizations serving corporations in this field did exist, none served the individuals working to make digital medicine part of a new standard of care. The computer scientists, healthcare providers, engineers, behavioral scientists, ethicists, clinical researchers, data scientists, and epidemiologists who are developing software and algorithms that measure, diagnose, and treat disease now have a convening body to support their work and collaboration.
DiMe Society has created a community of experts centered on the concept of driving scientific progress and the wide acceptance of digital medicine as a professional discipline capable of significantly impacting public health through improved health measurement, diagnosis and treatment. Unlike the broader field of digital health and wellness, digital medicine practitioners are committed to conducting rigorous randomized, controlled clinical trials for their products with the belief that this field demands the very highest level of evidence. Composed of members with a wide range of skills and experience, the society empowers individuals within this evolving community to work on multi-stakeholder projects where members build and maintain bridges across tech, biotech, clinical medicine, regulatory, payers, patients, and related fields. Essential to this role is serving as a north star to ethically guide the adoption of such technologies by creating, maintaining and disseminating standards of ethical conduct in digital medicine.
Through conferences and roundtables for in-person interaction as well as a strong digital community operating via appropriate communication channels, DiMe provides the means to meet, learn and share the results of the digital medicine community.
The Digitalis Commons is excited to serve on the society’s scientific advisory board. You can read its founding press release, have a look at its first publication, and follow Dime on Twitter and LinkedIn. To become a member, please visit dimesociety.org.
