The Health Media purchased by Group Healthcare – a media good news story

Leading healthcare publisher The Health Media, has been sold by Anna Mickell and Barbara Fountain to Australasian health data infrastructure company Group Healthcare Ltd, ensuring a future for The Health Media’s news, education and data products.

The purchase includes specialist publications New Zealand Doctor Rata Aotearoa and Pharmacy Today, and The Health Media’s 50 per cent share of medicine analytics company Matui.

Group Healthcare, managed by former Green Cross Health chief executive Grant Bai and founder of Dr Info Sam Jacobs, owns ReScript Ltd and Conporto Health Ltd.

These companies, with their associated products ReCare and Early Care, provide electronic patient records and end-to-end medicine workflow software for primary care prescribers, community pharmacists and hospitals in New Zealand and Australia.

The software suite is used by 90% of New Zealand’s pharmacies and 70% of medical centres and has a focus on increasing the safety of the prescribing process and better communication between the doctor, the pharmacy and the patient.

Matui shareholder/director and University of Otago associate professor Alesha Smith will join the ReScript team to lead their education and analytics services. It is expected the publication of Matui’s He Ako Hiringa’s EPiC dashboard will continue under the new ownership.

Ms Fountain is continuing as managing editor, overseeing the publication of independent health sector news and the development of new delivery channels for news and education.

Ms Mickell is leaving to pursue new opportunities in the wake of the sale.

It is anticipated most staff of The Health Media will be retained under the new ownership.

Group Healthcare director Grant Bai says: “Our interest in The Health Media stems from a desire to improve the quality of clinical education we are providing to our software users and to introduce a news service to our dashboard.”

Mr Bai says: “Matui will enhance the analytics work we have been developing – providing quality data for better decision making.”

Mr Bai says: “The Health Media is a legacy business with people who are passionate about primary care. The health sector needs the type of scrutiny that comes from a well-resourced, independent newsroom. To have issues aired and debated, and sector leaders held to account, is crucial to building a sustainable health system, something which Group Healthcare is also passionate about.”

The Health Media was set up in 2015 by Ms Mickell and Ms Fountain to purchase Pharmacy Today and New Zealand Doctor Rata Aotearoa from their previous international owners. The company has traded profitably since then and has a team of 20 regular full time and part time staff.

Ms Mickell says: “ReScript’s ability to distribute concise, relevant information to clinicians and consumers (at the right time) is fantastic.”

“Our clinical advisors and sponsors have been asking for this type of educational distribution for years and our team is excited to be able to develop tools for this new channel”.

Ms Fountain says: “There’s a lot of love out there for our print products but we’ve known for some time we need to find a better digital approach and I’m really happy the work of our award-winning team is finding a home with ReScript.”

“It’s also a huge relief that Group Healthcare see value in quality media, given the difficulties currently faced by the media industry the world over.”