There is expected to be a shortage of anywhere between 37,800 and 124,000 physicians by 2034 according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.  The shortage has been and is expected to be more acute among specialties.  Virtual telehealth platforms are one key aspect in addressing the resulting accessibility issues across the country.  Summus is a virtual specialty care healthcare platform that provides access to vetted specialists, making healthcare more timely and accessible.  In many parts of the country, it may take anywhere from two to five months, with Summus, patients can consult with a specialist within days.  The company operates as a platform marketplace that allows PCPs, healthcare systems, and insurance plans/employers to connect with a network of over 5,100 specialists that support 2.1M+ globally. AlleyWatch caught up with Summus Founder and CEO Julian Flannery to learn more about the business, the company's strategic plans, latest round of funding, and much, much more...

Summus strengthens Executive team with appointment of Mike Tilton as Chief Commercial Officer. New York, May 30: Summus, the only physician-led, multi-specialty platform delivering longitudinal support to the highest-cost, most complex members across their entire care journey, today announced the appointment of Michael P. Tilton as Chief Commercial Officer. Tilton joins as employers and health plans face mounting pressure to improve outcomes and contain costs for their most complex members. In this role, Mike will lead go-to-market strategy across all channels to further scale Summus' innovative clinically-led approach with health plans and employers to deliver better health care and support more complex and rising risk members. Veteran Healthcare Executive Mike Tilton Joins as Summus Scales Its Physician-Led Multi-Specialty Platform "We're thrilled to welcome Mike to the Summus team at a significant moment in healthcare and for our company," said Julian Flannery, Founder and CEO of Summus. "With annual healthcare costs rising 9% and specialty care remaining highly fragmented, employers are focused on consolidating point solutions and supporting their most complex and rising-risk members to bend the cost curve. Mike's deep experience in healthcare and across the largest health plans positions him to meaningfully impact existing and future partnerships across health plans, benefits consultants, and self-insured employers at this important growth inflection point for Summus. His leadership and strategic lens will be instrumental as we scale our platform and continue to advance our vision of one platform, every health journey." Tilton joins Summus with more than two decades of senior leadership experience across Fortune 500 healthcare organizations and high-growth health tech companies. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President of Specialty and Retiree Solutions at Humana, where he managed a portfolio of businesses representing over $12.7 billion in annual revenue, including the Ancillary Group, Individual and Medicare Supplemental Benefits, Wellness, Medicare Supplement, and Group Medicare businesses. Prior to Humana, Tilton served as General Manager of the Commercial Segment for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, where he led a statewide team across Product, Operations, Group Sales, Finance, and Underwriting, delivering over $2 billion in revenue while significantly improving administrative services only (ASO) profitability. He also served as a Board Member and Advisor to Consortium Health Plans, helping integrate best practices and enable National Account strategies across the BCBS system. Earlier in his career, Tilton held senior positions at UnitedHealth Group, Cigna, GlaxoSmithKline, and U.S. Healthcare, with responsibilities spanning PBM contracting, payer access, provider contracting, underwriting, and go-to-market strategy. He has also worked with healthtech companies on commercial strategy and as an Operating Partner for venture-focused investment funds. "Summus has built something genuinely different in healthcare: a physician-led platform that meets members at every step of their care journey, from a first question to the most complex care decisions," Tilton said. "Employers and health plans are under enormous pressure to manage the highest-cost, most complex members without compromising member experience. The Summus model directly addresses that challenge, and I'm excited to help bring it to more health plans and employer partners and members." This appointment reflects Summus' continued investment in building a world-class leadership team as the company scales its physician-led approach to clinical navigation and specialty care access.