Medscape Parent's Buy Includes Patient Communities

WebMD, the parent of physician research and access panels company Medscape, has acquired the Consumer Services Division of Vitals, which provides online tools to help individuals connect with healthcare providers and other patients.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Vitals' other division, Enterprise, will remain with existing owner MDx Medical, Inc. The Consumer division comprises Vitals.com and UCompareHealthCare.com, which help consumers find local healthcare professionals; and MedHelp, a collection of online patient-to-patient communities discussing medical conditions and experiences.

WebMD was itself acquired by online media and software services company Internet Brands in 2017, and has since been building up its provider directory: together with Vitals Consumer's sites this is now expected to generate 'more than 10 million visits per month from consumers looking for local healthcare providers'.

Vitals Consumer Services Division will henceforth operate as a subsidiary of WebMD, whose CEO Steve Zatz comments: 'The consumer-first mission of Vitals Consumer Services Division, as evidenced by its strong commitment to transparent information and data, makes it a natural fit within the WebMD network. We plan to quickly open our combined platform to providers, provider networks and other health systems that are seeking to drive new patients into their practices'.

Internet brands is headquartered in El Segundo, CA; boasts web sites serving more than 250 million monthly visitors; and is a portfolio company of GfK investor KKR, and of Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek.

Web site: www.webmd.com .