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.”
