To help improve health outcomes, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is turning to a private sector partner to release an app for Medicaid-eligible families in need of pregnancy and post-partum support.
MDHHS has opted to use the Philips Pregnancy+ mobile application, which Philips said is the “most downloaded pregnancy app in the world.” In a press release, Philips said the app “supports parents from the moment they discover they are pregnant by offering personalized content, expert-written information, as well as interactive 3D models to track a baby’s development.”
MDHHS has worked with Philips to customize the app to make it easier for Medicaid-eligible families to access available state support programs. MDHHS said Medicaid eligible families account for 45 percent of all births in Michigan.
“MDHHS is excited to be able to offer the Pregnancy+ App to Michigan families to support them during this exciting time in their lives,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive at MDHHS. “We want to ensure they are able to access the resources they need, and to learn about important topics including immunizations, hearing screening, breastfeeding and other information designed to improve the health of moms and babies.”
According to a Philips press release, the app helps point users to other state programs including Michigan’s Home Visiting service, which has been shown to improve maternal and infant health outcomes, breastfeeding resources and support, information on RSV and flu, mental health resources, as well as other assets for healthy moms and babies.
As part of the customization of the app, users will have a “Today” feed that will recommend relevant content, tools, and sign posting to the MDHHS program at specific points of the user’s journey. Additionally, the app will also suggest MDHHS and other relevant content and resources, including in-depth pregnancy-related articles developed with experts.
