The past year saw US FDA and industry work hard and fast to prepare for what looks like an inevitable boom in the digital-health sector. According to interviews, the time is ripe for adoption of mobile health apps to help reduce health-care costs, but the brave new world also brings with it big challenges.

Virtual reality is seeing an upsurge in use by mental health practitioners for treating conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorders and anxiety in a safe and controlled manner. With the advent of affordable VR headsets and technological advances, companies and researchers worldwide are seizing on the opportunity to bring such techniques as VR exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy to telemedicine, specialty clinics and directly to consumers to improve outcomes and better lives.

This week, studies supported Nevro’s spinal cord stimulation therapy and a VRx system that helps reduce pain; the American Medical Association found inconsistent insurance coverage of digital therapeutics; and Geneticure announced a cheek-swab test to identify which patients are most likely to benefit from renal denervation.