### [FDA OKs digital health tools for use during pandemic  (MedCityNews)](https://medcitynews.com/2020/04/fda-oks-digital-health-tools-for-use-during-pandemic/)

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* The pressure put on global health systems by the COVID-19 pandemic has led the FDA to temporarily approve changes which have given digital health companies a boost by making it easier for consumers and hospitals to use their technologies. 
* Last week, **the FDA approved Livongo’s glucose monitors to be used in a hospital setting and also updated its guidance to allow hospitals to use at-home glucose monitors to remotely monitor COVID-19 patients’ blood glucose levels.**
* The FDA has also loosened requirements around the use of digital tools for mental health, stating that these “may improve mental health and well-being of patients with psychiatric conditions during periods of shelter-in-place, isolation, and quarantine”. 
### Analysis & Comments
* The FDA has been overhauling a variety of standard practices over the past few weeks in order to address the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. 
* **A lot of these changes unsurprisingly focus on (remote) monitoring devices. For example, the FDA expanded the use of connected, non-invasive remote vital-sign monitors to enable more out-of-hospital care at the end of March.** Additionally, it released a similar policy for remote ophthalmic (eye-related) assessment and monitoring devices.
* Regarding the changes for glucose monitoring systems, it is worth noting that **DexCom and Abbott** are also supplying their continuous glucose monitoring systems (CGMs) to hospitals at the moment and according to the Wall Street Journal, 86 hospitals have requested DexCom’s CGMs.
* The FDA is not alone in this: **the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has temporarily expanded telehealth benefits, while the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enacted a US$200m telemedicine initiative focussed on expanding the required infrastructure, and the Department of Veterans Affairs has placed telehealth at the core of its COVID-19 Response Plan.**
* While most changes are temporary, the positive effect they have the expansion of related infrastructure could accelerate the adoption of digital health solutions down the line.



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