HHS Advocates Health Texting

OMG! With a whopping 2.2 trillion text messages zipping across the U.S. last year, the Department of Health and Human Services is trying to dial up ways to have texters get their fingers do the talking about health.

The HHS Text4Health Task Force notes that at-risk populations, including teenagers and Medicaid recipients, are among the most avid texters. Early programs are showing promise, such as the public-private partnership "text4baby," which provides information about pregnancy and child-rearing, the task force says.

In a new report, Text4Health recommends that HHS:

• Develop and host health text message libraries leveraging the department's scientifically based information.
• Further research the effectiveness of health text messaging.
• Partner with federal and private organizations to disseminate health text messaging and mobile health programs.
• Form a mobile health (mHealth) community of practice to coordinate mHealth activities.
• Integrate health text messaging and mHealth with other health IT priorities.
• Research privacy and security risks and establish guidelines to manage them.
• Have agencies, including the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, research texting technology trends and establish regulatory guidelines for interactive systems to prevent and treat disease.