Hearst Health Ventures, a unit of Hearst Corporation, and Tonic Health announced a venture investment by Hearst in Tonic Health, a patient engagement and medical data collection company.
Tonic Health offers an Apple iPad and Web-based data collection platform for patients, coupled with an enterprise-level data management platform for hospitals and health systems.
The solution includes a user-friendly survey builder that allows providers to create, manage and edit surveys and forms across their entire enterprise. Health care providers can then use customized tools to analyze and act upon the results in real time.
Tonic was founded collaboratively by a consumer marketing expert and a technologist with experience in customer relationship management (CRM), mobile and Web applications to solve the challenge of gathering accurate and actionable patient-reported data. The result was the pairing of an intuitive interface with robust real-time analytics and CRM capabilities.
“With Hearst Health Ventures, we are looking for innovative investments that deepen our insight into information-driven solutions that have the potential to improve health care quality and efficiency,” Hearst President and CEO Steven Swartz said. “We are pleased with the opportunity to work with Tonic Health and learn more about effective patient engagement.”
Tonic Health solutions are designed to enable providers to be proactive in managing their patients’ care journey over the long term, with the potential for better outcomes and care delivery of greater value.
Used by a wide range of health systems such as Partners HealthCare and UCLA Health, Tonic’s user interface and functionality help improve patient data collection across an array of provider needs, including patient intake, real-time patient screening and risk assessment, patient satisfaction, patient education and longer-term patient-reported outcomes.
“Across the Hearst Health network, we are focused on providing vital information and innovative technology to everyone who touches a person’s care,” Richard Malloch, president of Hearst Business Media, the group that includes Hearst Health Ventures, said in a statement. “We are excited about our relationship with Tonic Health and the ability to improve the patient’s health care experience while driving efficiencies for care providers.”
Hearst Health Ventures takes minority positions in startups that offer health IT solutions and technology-enabled health care services. The health care venture fund is part of the Hearst Health network, which includes First Databank (FDB), Zynx Health, MCG (formerly Milliman Care Guidelines) and Homecare Homebase.
“We are excited about working with Hearst Health as we build Tonic further, given its broad expertise in clinical care guidance and proven ability in driving health system efficiency,” Sterling Lanier, CEO and co-founder of Tonic Health, said in a statement. “We think the collaboration will allow us to strengthen and expand our platform in exciting ways.”
Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed. As part of the investment, Ellen Koskinas, managing director of Hearst Health Ventures, will join the Tonic Health board of directors, a company release noted.