Aneesh Chopra, the White House chief technology officer, announced a mobile phone health program today that will deliver at least three text messages a week to pregnant women to provide prenatal health reminders throughout their pregnancy and their babies' first year.
The Health and Human Services Department will manage the program, but it will be a partnership between federal agencies and an assortment of telecom carriers Chopra said.
The Text4baby program aims to reduce maternal and infant health gaps in the United States, which has higher infant mortality than most industrial countries, he said.
It is also an example of the administration's emphasis on collaboration with the private sector, Chopra said at a joint presentation of the Health IT Government Leaders, Health Information Exchange and HIPAA summits Feb. 4 in Washington, D.C.
"Text4baby represents an extraordinary opportunity to expand the way we use our phones, to demonstrate the potential of mobile health technology, and make a real difference for moms and babies across the country," Chopra said.
When women text "baby" or "bebe" in Spanish, then 511411, they will automatically be signed up for the messages at no cost. As of this morning, 3,400 women had signed up, he said.
The partnership is made up of 15 telecom carriers, healthcare industry, insurance plans and federal agencies, including HHS and Defense departments and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Chopra said he anticipates a similar focus on innovation in products and service to be developed around meaningful use of electronic health records.
