Annie is a VA messaging service that empowers Veterans to take an active role in their care. Messages you receive from Annie can include reminders to take your medication, tips for reducing stress, instructions to prepare for your health care appointments, and more. Annie can also send you broadcast messages from your VA medical center. Once you are registered for Annie and have chosen your Annie health subscriptions, you will receive automated text messages. Annie helps you take charge of your health, one text at a time.

Annie helps you take better care of yourself by sending you health-related text messages and reminders. You can choose what types of messages to receive based on your personal health care needs. Your responses and health readings are stored in Annie, which gives your care team the option to review the information to help them make decisions about your care plan. Join tens of thousands of Veterans who successfully use Annie and start improving your self-care today.

To use Annie, you must have ID.me, DS Logon Level 2 (Premium), or My HealtheVet Premium account credentials for registration. Annie works on any mobile phone that can send and receive text messages. You can also use Annie online on a computer, tablet, or smartphone connected to the internet.

If you do not have an ID.me, DS Logon Level 2 (Premium), or My HealtheVet Premium Account, or you are not sure, visit mobile.va.gov/login-information for more information.

Annie is named after a courageous and heroic nurse who served during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Lieutenant Annie G. Fox was Chief Nurse in the Army Nurse Corps at Hickam Field, and she was the first woman to receive the Purple Heart for combat.

No. Annie messages are automated and are not regularly checked by your care team. Your provider cannot directly exchange text messages with you through Annie. Annie cannot be used:

• To contact your VA health care team directly about specific health concerns.
• To view general medical information or records in My HealtheVet.
• For an emergency or crisis. Call 911 or contact the Veterans Crisis Line (800-273-8255 and press 1).

Yes. Anyone who is enrolled in VA health care can use Annie. To begin, you must register first. Visit mobile.va.gov/annie#register for step-by-step instructions on how to get started.

To use Annie, you must register first. The registration process is quick and easy and collects basic information such as your mobile phone number and your user preferences. Follow the instructions below to register:

1. Go to Annie for Veterans
2. Select Your Log In Preference: My HealtheVet Premium, DS Logon Level 2, or ID.me. (Read more about secure account credentials or contact your VAMC and ask for the My HealtheVet coordinator.)
3. Use the Wizard to register:
   • Consent
     • Read the entire Information and Disclosure Factsheet. Once you have scrolled all the way down to the bottom, if you want to use Annie, check the consent box indicating that you give your consent to participate. You will NOT be able to check the box if you do not scroll to the bottom of the agreement.
     • Select Next.
   • Patient Information
     • Fill in your mobile phone, re-enter it, and select your time zone.
     • Select Next.
   • Preferences
     • After reviewing ‘Receiving and Replying to Annie Messages,’ select how you would like to interact with Annie (via text message, Annie online, or both).
     • Select Next.
   • Broadcast Message
     You can decide to receive limited broadcast messages from Annie. These messages include important information from your VA medical center, and they will be sent depending on the topics of interest you choose during registration. You can update your preferences at any time by visiting Annie online.
     • The box is selected by default to receive these messages, if you would not like to receive these messages, then uncheck the box and skip step ‘b.’
     • To move forward and receive messages:
       • Select your VA Medical Center.
       • Select the topics of interest that you would like to receive messages about.
     • Select Submit.
4. You will receive the following message from Annie confirming your participation “Hi, it’s Annie! Welcome! I am very happy to connect with you. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to Stop. Msg & Data rates may apply. Msg frequency varies.”
5. Once you have registered, you can subscribe to receive Annie messages about your specific health interests.

During the registration process, you can decide to receive limited broadcast messages from Annie. These messages include important information from your VA medical center, and they will be sent depending on the topics of interest you choose. You can update your preferences at any time by visiting Annie online.

Once you have registered, you can subscribe to receive Annie messages about your specific health interests. There are many Annie health subscriptions to choose from. If one interests you, text SUB, followed by the health subscription’s keyword, to Annie (75338). For example, to subscribe to medication reminders, text SUB MED. A full list of available health subscriptions can be found here: mobile.va.gov/annie#subscription.

The number and frequency of messages depends on the health subscriptions and broadcast messages you are signed up for. You can view the amount and timing of messages you receive by visiting Annie online. To see this information, select My Settings at the top of the screen. You will see a list of upcoming messages that will be sent to you by Annie, including any requests from Annie for health readings that you are tracking. For each message, you can see its name or the type of information requested, when and how often messages are sent, and the date when you started getting messages from Annie.

There are two ways you can interact with Annie:

• Annie Text Messaging – If you choose to use Annie text messaging, you will receive SMS text notifications, reminders, and motivational messages directly on your phone. NOTE: Text messaging is not secure*
• Annie Online – If you prefer the added security of using Annie online instead of text messaging, you can choose to only receive messages online. You can also choose to receive text notifications on your phone when you have a new message in Annie online. You can make changes to your preferences online at any time. You can also use Annie online to see all messages and readings you have sent to Annie, send new messages to Annie, view reports of the health data you have submitted to Annie, and view a schedule of messages Annie will send.

NOTE: To use Annie online, you must log in using your ID.me, DS Logon Level 2 (Premium), or My HealtheVet Premium account credentials

*As with any text messaging, sending, and receiving SMS texts with Annie is not secure. Text messages are not encrypted (scrambled to make it hard for people to get and read your information) when being sent and received. Texts can remain on your phone and with the companies that transmit the messages forever. If anyone else has access to your phone, they may be able to read text messages from Annie intended only for you.

Annie online is free to use. If you choose to exchange text messages with Annie, text messaging and data rates may apply depending on your phone plan.

There are two ways to receive messages: through text messaging and Annie online. For text messaging, make sure Annie has your correct mobile phone number (see “What if I change my Mobile Phone Number?” below). If you use Annie text messaging, Annie will send you texts just as you would receive from a friend or family member. If you use Annie online, you can check for and read messages online. You can also choose to receive text notifications on your phone when you have a new message online. You will then need to log in to Annie online to check the message.

There are two ways to send messages to Annie: through texting and Annie online. For both of these methods, Annie will send a message that asks you to respond with a health measure. Annie uses keywords to know what kind of information you are sending. The letters can be upper or lower case and spelling has to be EXACT. Depending on the information you send, Annie will tell you how to respond. When you respond to Annie by sending your readings (such as your blood pressure measurement), you must start your message with a keyword or abbreviation so that Annie understands your message.

For example, if Annie asked you to send your temperature, and your reading at home is 98˚F, you would type: TEMP 98 or temp 98. If you respond with 98, without the ‘Temp’, Annie will not understand your message. If you use Annie online, select My Messages at the top of the screen. Type Temp 98 in the Enter Message box at the bottom, then select Send.

Every message you receive from and send to Annie will be recorded so you can look at them at any time in Annie online. To see past messages, select My Messages at the top of the screen. Messages you sent to and received from Annie will be shown, including dates and times. Scroll through the messages using the bars to the right and below the messages or filter your messages by keyword by selecting the drop-down menu next to Filter Messages By.

If you have sent readings for health tracking to Annie, you can see a report with your information in Annie online. Select My Data at the top of the screen and choose the type of health information (such as blood pressure, weight, etc.) you would like to see from the list on the left side of the screen. Annie will show you a report of your readings as charts and tables of the information you have sent, including the date and time. You can adjust the time period by selecting a date range.

To stop receiving messages from Annie or stop participating in Annie, type and send the message: “STOP.” Text Stop 1 to stop broadcast messages. Text Stop 2 to stop health messages. Text Stop 3 to stop participation in Annie.

If you want to start receiving messages again, text “START” to Annie. You can also log in to Annie online to update your message preferences.

If your phone number has changed, you can update it by visiting Annie online and selecting My Settings. Be sure to contact your care team and provide them with your new phone number as well.

Annie messages are automated and are not regularly checked by your care team. Your provider cannot directly exchange text messages with you through Annie. If Annie tells you to notify your care team, or if you have questions about your readings or the messages Annie sends you, contact your provider directly.

More resources, such as a Slideshow and At A Glance, can be found on mobile.va.gov/app/annie-app-veterans. You can access these materials in Annie online by selecting the dropdown menu next to your name in the upper right corner of the screen and selecting Help. A pop-up box will appear with a number for the VA Help Desk and a link to additional training materials. Select the Training Materials hyperlink, and you will go to mobile.va.gov/app/annie-app-veterans.

If you need help or technical assistance using Annie, or to report a problem, call 1-877-470-5947 to speak with a VA representative. For TTY assistance, dial 711.

To ask for assistance from Annie, type and send the message: “HELP.” Annie will respond with help desk information and a list of the available Annie commands.

The best way to use Annie is to partner with your VA care team. If you have questions about using Annie or about your health readings, contact your care team. Annie is not for urgent or emergency issues. If you have an emergency, call your local medical center or dial 911. If you think that any of your health information has been seen by others due to loss or theft, contact your local VA medical facility and ask for the Privacy Officer. To locate your local VA facility, visit VA’s Facility Locator.

If you experience technical glitches with Annie online or Annie text messages, please report the issue by calling 1-877-470-5947. Your feedback will help us to continually improve the app.