The first time we heard about the Tonic app was just over a year ago, at the 2019 Web Summit. This Portuguese-based app that allows doctors to exchange numerous clinical cases and share different resources has grown enormously since then.
We spoke with the CEO and co-founder Daniela Seixas, who told us what the app has to offer, how they’ve enhanced its usefulness with the pandemic, and what their next goals are.
– How did the Tonic App come about? Although it is a Portuguese start-up, the seed is in Madrid, right?
– Indeed, Tonic App has its origins in Portugal, ever since was born as a spin-off from the University of Porto, in 2016. The seeds of it are in Madrid, however, as the co-founders, Daniela Seixas, Andrew Barnes, Christophe de Kalbermatten and Dávid Borsós, we met while studying for an MBA at IE Business School in Madrid.
– How exactly does the application work?
– Tonic App is a platform created by doctors for doctors that provides resources that are adapted to their actual needs and, more importantly to us, validated by our own users.
We integrate tools aimed at clinical practicefor example algorithms for the diagnosis, treatment and referral of numerous pathologies, medical calculators certified as medical devices, a platform for the discussion of clinical cases, etc.; as well as sources of medical professional interest such as conference finder, job opportunities for all specialties, health news, among others.
The 5 resources most commonly used by doctors in Spain today are: sections on Covid-19, medical calculators, diagnostic, treatment and referral algorithms, job vacancies and electronic prescribing.
– How many doctors are already using your application in Spain and worldwide?
– In Spain, our community has already done that more than 16,000 doctors since its launch in September 2019. User acquisition has quadrupled since June. At the European level we have more than 38,000 doctors between Portugal, Spain and Italy. And we keep growing!
– Is there a predominant specialty within the doctors using the Tonic App?
– The most predominant specialties are: Family and Community Medicine, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. In Spain we also have anesthesiology and resuscitation and geriatrics as predominant.
It should be noted that we diversify the profile of our users as we implement specific projects. For example, one of the projects we are developing in Spain is targeting cardiologists and by 2021 we are about to tackle projects related to other specialties.
– Share so many cases among doctors, how do you ensure that the RGPD is adhered to and patient privacy is respected within the application?
– Tonic App takes the security and privacy of its users’ data very seriously. We strictly adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (RGPD). As for patient data in particular, as Tonic App is a doctor-centric digital ecosystem, we have decided not to process this data in any way.
– What funding and financial support have you had so far?
– Tonic App has already managed to raise 3.5 million euros in venture capital investments, with investors from various European countries, such as Vesalius Biocapital, Armilar Venture Partners and Portugal Ventures. We also participated in a growth program in The Venture City accelerator, with offices in Madrid, Miami, San Francisco and São Paulo.
– What does the Spanish market mean for the company?
– The Spanish market is the first on which Tonic App has deployed internationally, after three years of growth and consolidation in Portugal. The great reception of Tonic App in Spain has allowed us to validate something that we already felt: the added value that our service represents for the medical community in other countries.
The fact that we already have more than 16,000 users in Spain and that their engagement (using the app) is remarkably high is our confirmation that we are willing to expand further into other markets.
– What role did Tonic App play during the pandemic?
– On March 11, 2020, the day WHO announced that we were dealing with a pandemic, we had a spike in engagement with the Tonic App, that is, from users who trusted us and came to our app looking for resources and information.
With the challenge of the pandemic, We have redoubled our efforts to respond to the emerging needs in the fastest and most effective way. We have created a specific section to provide updated information on Covid-19. In Spain, we provide our users with the protocols of all medical societies and the Ministry of Health and update them weekly.
In addition, we provide a weekly summary of the most relevant scientific articles, selected by an international team of physicians and translated into Spanish to facilitate consultation. We also offer a selection of webinars and courses related to Covid-19.
On the other hand, we’ve made our medical community available completely free of charge an electronic prescription system developed by the Osigu technology platform and approved by the Collegiate Medical Organization (WTO).
– Do you think the coronavirus has been the springboard to which the world of ehealth and mhealth was missing?
– The digital health market has already undergone a major transformation. Doctors were already using more and more digital platforms for their work, but that is undoubtedly the case The pandemic has exponentially accelerated the adoption of digital media among the general population and in the health world in particular.
Tonic App is a company born for the ehealth sector, especially mhealth, whose mission has always been to make the everyday lives of doctors and their patients easier with the help of technology. In addition, we act as a link between the various health agents – such as physicians themselves, scientific associations, medical publishers, the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, healthcare contractors, public organizations, other startups, in short, all of them. , enabling us to provide our medical community with the best professional resources.
We can confirm that Tonic App It is already part of the ehealth panorama of Spain. A relevant fact: Since the start of the pandemic, the use of our app has increased by 1600%.
– You have been named one of the 60 Most Promising Female-Led Startups, according to Forbes. How do you feel about it and more when you move between two worlds with a lot of male heritage, such as that of doctors and technology?
– We are very pleased with the public recognition we have had, but even more so for the impact of our team’s work to ensure that healthcare is of higher quality and more efficient.
Our talent is 58% female and 31% foreign, a percentage rare in tech companies and we even have two women heading towards our startup – Daniela Seixas, CEO, and Sonia Gimeno, CFO -. At first glance it may not seem like it, but the world of technology is less discriminatory than the world of medicine. We hope our team will serve as an example and show that it can be done: it is possible that women work in the field of technology, it is possible that women lead companies, and it is possible that doctors work in the field of technology.
– As you have told us, you have just signed a partnership to enable the approved e-prescription, can you tell us more about it?
– The private electronic prescription instrument is made available for free in the Tonic App in collaboration with the Osigu technology platform. The system creates in an intuitive and comfortable way Prescribe medicines remotely to each patient, which helps save time and avoid unnecessary travel, which is of the utmost importance given the pandemic situation we are going through.
Without a doubt, the free private electronic prescription system has been a great gamble that we are very proud of as we have received numerous tokens of appreciation from our medical community since launch, encouraging us to continue working to help in this hard times.
The system developed by Osigu is one of the first to receive homologation from the Collegiate Medical Organization (OMC). This system is integrated with the NodoFarma portal, the tool provided by the General Council of Official Colleges of Pharmacists (CGCOF) for the management of private prescriptions.
To access the free private electronic prescription system, the physician only needs to download the Tonic app on their mobile phone and register to access the Electronic Prescription section of Osigu. Once validated, The doctor can immediately start issuing prescriptions, which will be sent directly to the patient’s email.
– What can we expect in the medium term from the application and the start-up?
– Ready for Tonic App will be multiplatform: Tonic Web will be operational from 2021. The new year will also bring essential resources for doctors, such as video consultations and a department entirely dedicated to patients. 2021 is going to be a year of great geographic expansion for Tonic: we are entering two more European countries. There will be more news soon.
Alberto Payo
Follow @albertopayo
Latest entries from Alberto Payo (see everything)
You may also be interested
×