WebMD Health announced this past week that it acquired the operation assets of the Boise, Idaho-based Healthwise, a nonprofit that develops patient-engagement technology that integrates with care-management platforms through online patient portals, at the point of care or digitally.

WHY IT MATTERS

Under terms that were not disclosed, WebMD said that it purchased Healthwise's operating assets, including content, products, technology, client relationships and certain trademarks, and will incorporate them into its Ignite platform. 

Dr. Adam Husney, Healthwise's chief executive officer, said in the announcement that the nonprofit has been developing patient-engagement products and evidence-based health education since 1975. 

The content-as-a-service platform is accessible through a healthcare organization's apps, digital front doors, websites, social media, email campaigns and other tools. The company also developed a FHIR-based point-of-care tool for providers who use Epic electronic health records to offer patient-education content in 20 languages. 

"We now have an opportunity to extend our mission through the broader solutions and delivery platforms offered by WebMD Ignite," he said.

In April, WebMD launched its patient-engagement and growth platform as part of a consolidation of brands, including Mercury Health's technology and data analytics platform, purchased in July 2022, with a focus on increasing member engagement with relevant, easily understood and interactive consumer-health education. 

"This transaction will put the best content at the point of care for significantly more than half of U.S. hospital patients, as well as for the membership of most major payor organizations," said Ann Bilyew, president of the Healthcare Solutions Group at Internet Brands, the parent company of WebMD, in a statement.

Healthwise said in a statement that the nonprofit entity will continue exploring new ways to empower people to make better health decisions.

THE LARGER TREND

Healthwise ranked number one for patient education under value-based care in the 2024 Best in KLAS Report. When the nonprofit announced its ranking earlier this month, it boasted that 95% of KLAS' respondents said they would buy Healthwise again.

In October, WebMD Ignite partnered with Freshpaint, a healthcare privacy platform, to help healthcare organizations avoid sharing protected data with tools that aren’t HIPAA-compliant. 

WebMD said through that partnership it can help organizations remove noncompliant tracking technologies, de-identify and mask individual visitors, and control data flow across their entire marketing tech stacks.

ON THE RECORD

"The addition of Healthwise's business increases our already significant scale in content, technology, data and [artificial intelligence]," said Bilyew.

Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.