WebMD Health Corp. has acquired The Wellness Network, a maker of patient education videos for use in hospitals and health systems, the companies announced on Tuesday.
The companies did not disclose the purchase price or any other terms of their deal.
Founded over 40 years ago, Pewaukee, Wisconsin-based The Wellness Network employs more than 70 employees and was held by private equity firm Granite Bridge Partners.
The company has built a library of health videos spanning 24 therapeutic areas that support patient-physician conversations from diagnosis to recovery. These can be delivered at the point of care through hospital televisions or app-compatible devices and may be integrated into the EHR to document patient interactions.
Ann Bilyew, a senior vice president at WebMD, said the acquisition is an opportunity for her company to flesh out its presence among providers “with a compelling offering that supports improved health outcomes while increasing opportunities for our hospital customers to reach patients and caregivers."
WebMD Health Corp runs a collection of health information products for consumers and healthcare professions. These include the eponymous WebMD as well as Medscape, MedicineNet and eMedicineHealth, among others.
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Joining up with the larger health information company will allow The Wellness Network’s videos to reach new audiences, the companies said.
"The Wellness Network shares a core mission with WebMD Provider Services to enable education to be integrated into patient workflow, enabling our customers to inform, educate and support patients and caregivers through the healthcare journey," Dave Ross, CEO of The Wellness Network, said in a statement. "WebMD's extensive reach with health-seeking consumers and patients enables us to broaden our ability to deliver understandable and empowering content for the benefit of patients, hospitals and health systems."
This acquisition is one of several announced by WebMD Health Corp. this spring. These included ADDitude, a multi-channel content platform specializing in supporting or treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); MGP, a United Kingdom-based publisher targeting healthcare specialists; and PulsePoint, a tech company that uses data to time the delivery of health content or marketing during specific points during care.
However, the point-of-care patient education programming market picked up stiff competition in March when PatientPoint and Outcome Health announced plans to merge into PatientPoint Health Technologies. By combining the business of both engagement platforms, the merged company is set to reach nearly 150,000 healthcare providers and roughly 750 million patient visits annually, it said at the time.