It’s business as usual for optometrists who have signed up to MyHeath1st, following the platform’s sale to HealthShare Pty Ltd.
HealthShare – www.healthsharedigital.com – is an Australian digital health company founded in 2011 that develops tools for the health sector and community, including a specialist and allied practitioner referrals directory used by patients and GPs, a pre-consultation clinical questionnaire tool for GPs, and fact sheets to improve patient health literacy. Over 10 million Australians use HealthShare’s products every year as well as tens of thousands of GPs, non-GP specialists, and allied health practitioners.
HealthShare co-founder Rami Weiss told mivision that despite a change in ownership, the MyHealth1st platform would remain fully supported and HealthShare was keen to leverage its other digital assets to help support optometrists and the broader optometry sector. An immediate opportunity is to provide additional exposure for MyHealth1st’s optometry customers through HealthShare’s industry-leading practitioner directory, which is integrated into GP clinical software and available to patients through www.healthshare.com.au, he said. The directory also powers the Find a Provider functionality for over 30 private health insurers on their websites and member apps.
He said his organisation’s priority, ahead of making any changes to the platform, would be to talk to practice owners and existing users to gain an in-depth understanding of what’s been working well and not so well, and what additional features would be valuable.
Mr Weiss said the company has a long history of working collaboratively with health stakeholders, including many different health practitioner groups, to build digital health products that support better connections between patients and health practitioners.
1st Group Limited Chief Executive Officer Joshua Mundey said he expected MyHeath1st’s customers and employees to benefit from HealthShare’s long-term ownership.
“MyHeath1st has developed great relationships with a range of world class healthcare providers since its inception in 2012. HealthShare is an industry leader in the Australian digital health landscape, with industry leading products and a large user base of patients and health professionals,” he said.
Funds To Progress Telehealth
For 1st Group, which developed the MyHealth1st platform, proceeds from the AU$1.25 million will provide further capital to support the development of its diagnostic telehealth product, Visionflex.Mr Mundey said the sale represented another “important milestone” in 1st Group’s strategy to “create a focussed and profitable healthcare technology organisation that is well placed to capture market share in the fast growing, global hybrid health market”.
“The sale of MyHeath1st to HealthShare will considerably reduce net cash outflows for 1st Group, allowing for more focussed investment of human resources and financial capital in the growth of its other businesses. This transaction is a positive outcome for shareholders, customers, and employees.”
The transaction, which completed on 31 May, included the sale of assets, client agreements, supplier agreements, intellectual property, goodwill, business names, and domain names to HealthShare.
