From Hype To Health: The Three Jobs Sword Made Its Clinical Evidence Do

By Mariah Baltezegar, Chief Operating Officer and Derk Arts, CEO

Digital health companies often treat clinical evidence as a one-time hurdle to clear before launch. This session, "From Hype to Health," traces a different path by using clinical research as an evolving strategy. The conversation follows three distinct phases—building early evidence to win over skeptical clinicians, running randomized controlled trials to establish digital musculoskeletal care as a legitimate standard, and now generating cost-effectiveness data to unlock payer reimbursement.

With musculoskeletal conditions affecting roughly one in two US adults and low back pain remaining the leading cause of disability worldwide, the stakes for getting this evidence strategy right are substantial. For teams building the clinical evidence base behind a digital health or device program, this conversation offers a practical framework for sequencing real-world data collection and randomized trials so evidence keeps pace with what clinicians, patients, and payers each need to see at every stage of growth.