About
The UnitedHealthcare Maternity program and Healthy Pregnancy mobile app connects expectant and new mothers with nurse support to promote optimal health for both parents and infants through personalized care and support.
Innovation presentation
The UnitedHealthcare Maternity program and Healthy Pregnancy mobile app provides expectant women and new parents with personalized content (based on gestational age) and 24/7 nurse support during pregnancy and after delivery. Developed to provide support and information before, during and after delivery, the program and associated mobile help is helping reduce non-medically indicated cesarean (C-section) deliveries, pre-delivery hospital admissions and the average length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The program and app is available nationwide as part of employer-sponsored health benefit plans.
Using the app is simple, as it seamlessly integrates with UnitedHealthcare’s Maternity care platform to connect members with nurses throughout the prenatal and postpartum phases, using technology to encourage optimal health. The app also facilitates relationships between mothers and nurses – a nurse may call to discuss the pregnancy, and will continue to follow up before, during and after delivery.
The program has been shown to make a difference in expectant mothers’ lives. Based on a 2018 analysis of people who enrolled during their first trimester and completed the program, the initiative achieved significant value through fewer non-medically indicated C-sections, reduced the length of stay in NICU and frequency of antepartum admissions, and a decrease in other delivery and newborn-related costs. Over 50 percent of all maternity program participants started during their first trimester, helping drive higher engagement rates with the resource and contributing to an 18 percent C-section rate for low-risk pregnancies across UnitedHealthcare’s employer-sponsored health plans, lower than the target of 23.9 percent set by the federal government.
Uniqueness of the project
As an organization dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone, UnitedHealthcare is committed to developing value-based care resources like the Maternity program and Healthy Pregnancy mobile app. This app serves as another example of how UnitedHealthcare is using technology to provide incremental innovations that support the company’s mission and make a positive impact on the lives of the people UnitedHealthcare serves.
One of the app’s key features is its ability to encourage expectant mothers to take a pregnancy health assessment, which is then provided to UnitedHealthcare’s clinical team. Once the clinical team reviews the assessment, they are able to identify the pregnancy as high- or low-risk. Using this information to inform their health care recommendations allows nurses to operate with the full context of the mother’s medical history in mind, providing care that is truly customized for each patient’s needs. Additionally, nurses are encouraged to coordinate at-home visits and care, as well as connect pregnant members with appropriate behavioral health care teams for emotional and mental health support.
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