• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Behavioral Health
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Patient Engagement
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
    • Social Determinants of Health
  • Digital Health
    • AI
    • Blockchain
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • M&A
  • Value-based Care
    • Accountable Care (ACOs)
    • Medicare Advantage
  • Life Sciences
  • Research

Hearst Health Ventures Invests in Mobile Health Startup Tonic Health

by Fred Pennic 02/24/2014 Leave a Comment

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

Hearst Health Ventures, a unit of Hearst Corporation, and Tonic Health today announced a venture investment by Hearst in Tonic Health, a patient engagement and medical data collection company. The joint announcement was made by Steven R. Swartz, president and CEO of Hearst Corporation; Richard P. Malloch, president, Hearst Business Media, the group that includes Hearst Health Ventures; and Sterling Lanier, CEO and co-founder of Tonic Health. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Tonic Health offers a highly engaging, iPad®- and Web-based data collection platform for patients, coupled with a robust enterprise-level data management platform for hospitals and health systems. The solution includes a powerful, easy-to-use survey builder that allows providers to create, manage and edit all surveys and forms across their entire enterprise. Healthcare providers can then use customized tools to analyze and act upon the results in real time. Used by a wide range of leading health systems such as Partners HealthCare and UCLA Health, Tonic’s intuitive user interface and broad functionality optimizes 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. As U.S. health systems become increasingly accountable for patient outcomes beyond the hospital setting, Tonic Health enables 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. As part of the investment, Ellen Koskinas, managing director of Hearst Health Ventures, will join the Tonic Health Board of Directors.

“With Hearst Health Ventures, we are looking for innovative investments that deepen our insight into information-driven solutions that have the potential to improve healthcare quality and efficiency,” Swartz said. “We are pleased with the opportunity to work with Tonic Health and learn more about effective patient engagement.”

Hearst Health Ventures takes minority positions in startups that offer health IT solutions and technology-enabled healthcare services. The healthcare venture fund is part of the Hearst Health network, which includes First Databank (FDB), Zynx Health, MCG (formerly Milliman Care Guidelines) and Homecare Homebase.

“Across the Hearst Health network, we are focused on providing vital information and innovative technology to everyone who touches a person’s care,” Malloch said. “We are excited about our relationship with Tonic Health and the ability to improve the patient’s healthcare experience while driving efficiencies for care providers.”

Tonic was founded collaboratively by a consumer marketing expert and a technologist with deep experience in CRM, mobile and Web applications to solve the difficult challenge of gathering accurate and actionable patient-reported data. The result was the pairing of a simple, intuitive and entertaining interface with robust real-time analytics and CRM capabilities. The Tonic solution allows providers to gather more—and more accurate—data from patients with the goal of providing better, more personalized care at a lower cost.

“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,” Lanier said. “We think the collaboration will allow us to strengthen and expand our platform in exciting ways.”

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

Tagged With: Tonic Health

Tap Native

Get in-depth healthcare technology analysis and commentary delivered straight to your email weekly

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to HIT Consultant

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly.

Submit a Tip or Pitch

Featured Insights

 Selecting the Right EMR: A Practical Guide to Streamlining Your Practice and Enhancing Patient Care

Selecting the Right EMR: A Practical Guide to Streamlining Your Practice and Enhancing Patient Care

Featured Interview

Virta Health CEO: GLP-1s Didn’t Kill Weight Watchers, Its Broken Model Did

Most-Read

Samsung Acquires Xealth to Accelerate Connected Care Vision

Samsung Acquires Xealth to Accelerate Connected Care Vision

AI Dominates Digital Health Investment in First Half of 2025

Rock Health Report: AI Dominates Digital Health Investment in First Half of 2025

Moving Beyond EHRs: What Lies Ahead for Healthcare Digitization?

AI Agents vs. Chatbots: Understanding Agentic AI’s Role in Healthcare

AI Breakthrough Reveals 2025 AI Breakthrough Award Winners

AI Breakthrough Reveals 2025 AI Breakthrough Award Winners

Healthcare's Big Blind Spot: The Measurement Crisis in Inpatient Psychiatry

Healthcare’s Big Blind Spot: The Measurement Crisis in Inpatient Psychiatry

Lessons Learned from The Change Healthcare Cyberattack, One Year Later

Lessons Learned from The Change Healthcare Cyberattack, One Year Later

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Launches "CloseKnit" Virtual-First Primary Care Option

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Launches “CloseKnit” Virtual-First Primary Care Option

Omada Health Launches "Nutritional Intelligence" with AI Agent OmadaSpark

Omada Health Soars in NASDAQ Debut, Signaling Digital Health IPO Rebound

Medtronic to Separate Diabetes Business into New Standalone Company

Medtronic to Separate Diabetes Business into New Standalone Company

White House, IBM Partner to Fight COVID-19 Using Supercomputers

HHS Sets Pricing Targets for Trump’s EO on Most-Favored-Nation Drug Pricing

Secondary Sidebar

Footer

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Reprints and Permissions
  • Submit An Op-Ed
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Editorial Coverage

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Digital Health
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Blockchain Tech
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • Value-Based Care
    • Accountable Care
    • Medicare Advantage

Connect

Subscribe to HIT Consultant Media

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly

Copyright © 2025. HIT Consultant Media. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy |