Health IT Program Targets Diabetes

The federal government is working with the American Diabetes Association on a new program using health IT as a Type 2 diabetes assessment and management tool.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Diabetes Association will launch pilot programs this fall in Detroit and New Orleans. Those cities are among 17 regional health IT innovation hubs designated by ONC under its Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement program.

"Across the country, Beacon Communities are using technology to improve health care delivery in their local communities," says Aaron McKethan, director of the Beacon Community Program at ONC, in a news release. "The mobile health campaigns planned for Detroit and New Orleans are geared toward helping more patients understand their risk factors for the disease and connect them to their doctors, clinics and other community resources to better manage their health."

Specifics of the program are still being worked out, but it will be based on the successful Text4baby campaign that sends pregnant women and new mothers health tips and resource information via cellphone text messages. More than 185,000 women nationwide are enrolled in Text4Baby.

Washington, D.C.-based mobile-health provider Voxiva Inc. is working with health officials in both cities to develop the diabetes health IT technologies and services, according to the Diabetes Association. The company also is part of the Text4Baby campaign.