Hearst Corporation Announces Formation of Hearst Health

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Jan 27, 2014) - Hearst Corporation today announced the creation of Hearst Health, a new brand that encompasses its healthcare information businesses, giving the company a consolidated presence across the clinical, pharmacy, home and hospice care, and health insurance markets. The announcement was made by Steven R. Swartz, president and CEO of Hearst Corporation, and Richard P. Malloch, president of Hearst Business Media, which oversees Hearst Health.

Healthcare information has become a chief revenue source for Hearst through its leading companies: FDB (First Databank), Zynx Health, MCG (formerly Milliman Care Guidelines), Homecare Homebase (85 percent stake, as previously announced) and Map of Medicine (internationally). Each year in the U.S., care guidance from Hearst Health reaches more than 75 percent of patients discharged from hospitals, 20 million patient home visits, more than 133 million insured individuals, 1.8 billion retail pharmacy prescriptions and 3.25 billion prescription claims.

"Since our founding, Hearst has been committed to public service and to independently gathering and disseminating high value, accurate information," Swartz said. "Hearst Health's leadership position in the healthcare information industry is rooted in that commitment. The goal of all of our healthcare businesses is to help our clients achieve excellence in care through access to better information."

In the healthcare sector in North America, Hearst owns and operates:

• FDB (First Databank) -- the leading provider of drug knowledge bases that empower healthcare information systems and enable healthcare professionals to make better medication-related decisions
• Zynx Health -- the Best in KLAS provider of evidence-based care plans, as well as order sets and clinical optimization programs, to measurably improve patient outcomes, enhance safety and lower costs
• MCG (formerly Milliman Care Guidelines) -- a developer and producer of globally sourced, clinically validated best practices for health systems and insurance companies to drive effective and cost-appropriate care
• Homecare Homebase -- a leading provider of comprehensive software-as-service solutions to the homecare and hospice market

Internationally, the Hearst Health network also includes Map of Medicine, a Web-based visual representation of evidence-based patient care journeys to enable clinicians to plan and then benchmark clinical practice against national standards.

"Hearst has been operating in the healthcare information industry since 1980. Each of our companies pioneered their markets and emerged as leaders," Malloch said. "Our companies complement each other under their shared mission of putting vital information into the hands of everyone who touches a person's health journey. Establishing the Hearst Health brand will elevate the awareness of what we do in the healthcare marketplace."

Hearst Health's care guidance is used by seven of the eight largest health plans, eight of the nine top pharmacy benefit managers, the majority of retail pharmacy storefronts, several of the largest health systems, and over 100 leading homecare and hospice agencies.

"The care guidance we provide is the next generation of clinical decision support," said Gregory Dorn, MD, who oversees Hearst Health as an executive vice president of Hearst Business Media. "In addition to best practices, it encompasses efficiency of care and resource planning. We guide the most important decisions across the entire patient journey."

Extensions of Hearst Health include Hearst Health Ventures and the Hearst Health Innovation Lab. Led by managing director Ellen Koskinas, Hearst Health Ventures is a newly formed fund that invests in startups offering health IT solutions and technology-enabled healthcare services. Hearst Health Ventures draws upon expertise and insights from other Hearst operating companies to identify investments that will produce good financial returns. The first investment, CareInSync, applies research-proven methodologies to coordinate care among clinicians and patients.

The Hearst Health Innovation Lab, led by Justin Graham, chief innovation officer of Hearst Health, rapidly prototypes new product ideas in the healthcare IT market with his team of analysts, developers and data architects. The Innovation Lab supports projects developed internally, as well as the incubation of ideas and products in collaboration with outside clinician-entrepreneurs.

"We are looking to develop and fund revolutionary solutions to healthcare's biggest problems," Malloch said. "Through Hearst Health Ventures and the Innovation Lab, we will advance businesses that provide more scalable and cost-effective solutions for high-quality patient care."

To learn more about the Hearst Health network of companies, visit booth #1965 at HIMSS14 (Feb. 23-27) in Orlando, Fla.

About Hearst Health
The Hearst Health network includes FDB, Zynx Health, MCG and Homecare Homebase. Map of Medicine is part of the Hearst Health network internationally. Hearst Health is responsible for managing a healthcare venture capital fund and innovation lab, which foster breakthroughs in technology-enabled healthcare solutions that enhance the quality of care and increase efficiency. Care guidance from Hearst Health reaches more than 75 percent of patients discharged from hospitals, 20 million patient home visits, more than 133 million insured individuals, 1.8 billion retail pharmacy prescriptions and 3.25 billion prescription claims. 

Hearst Health (www.hearsthealth.com) is division of Hearst Business Media, an operating group of Hearst Corporation, which operates more than 20 business-to-business information services, electronic databases and publications. Among its core competencies is the aggregation of time-sensitive price, product and technical information that is integrated into business and professional processes.

About Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com) is one of the nation's largest diversified media and information companies. Its major interests include ownership of 15 daily and 34 weekly newspapers, including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Albany Times Union; hundreds of magazines around the world, including Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, ELLE and O, The Oprah Magazine; 29 television stations, which reach a combined 18 percent of U.S. viewers; ownership in leading cable networks, including Lifetime, A&E, HISTORY and ESPN; significant holdings in automotive, electronic and medical/pharmaceutical business information companies; a 50 percent stake in global ratings agency Fitch Group; Internet and marketing services businesses; television production; newspaper features distribution; and real estate. Follow us on Twitter @HearstCorp.