Digital therapeutics are FDA-authorized software applications designed to deliver evidence-based therapy content — a newer category worth understanding, including what it can and can’t replace.
What reSET-O is: An FDA-authorized app-based program specifically designed to be used alongside buprenorphine treatment, delivering CBT-based content and, in some versions, contingency-management-style incentives through the app itself.
Why this category exists: It aims to extend evidence-based therapy content (like CBT principles) to people who might not have easy access to in-person therapy, or as a supplement to therapy someone is already receiving.
What it’s not: A replacement for MOUD or for a relationship with a prescriber — these tools are designed as an addition to medical treatment, not a standalone treatment for opioid use disorder.
Access: Some of these tools require a prescription (they’re regulated similarly to medical devices in some cases) and may be covered by insurance — availability and specific offerings continue to evolve as this category develops.
A reasonable way to think about this category: Similar to how contingency management’s core principles are hard to access in person [link to that article], some digital therapeutics attempt to deliver similar incentive-based approaches through an app — worth asking your MOUD prescriber whether something like this is available and appropriate for you.
Medically reviewed by [pending]. Sources: FDA authorization documentation for reSET-O, clinical literature on digital therapeutics for substance use disorders.