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Tacos and Tech Podcast


Mar 1, 2021

Spencer Hutchins is the co-founder and CEO of Concert Health, which specializes in bringing behavioral health to patients through their primary care providers (PCP). The company essentially functions as a care delivery organization, with a vast majority of its 100 employees being behavioral specialists, from social workers to psychiatrists. 

Upon graduation from Colby College, Spencer worked as a senior intern on John Kerry’s presidential campaign. He started when the campaign had only 60 employees, and was there throughout the election, which boasted 24,000 attendees. From there, he realized that he did not want to pursue a career in politics, but still wanted to have a public-servant type of career while keeping the spirit of entrepreneurship in mind. He then pursued an MBA from Yale, and followed up with management consulting. 

He didn’t have a clear plan when pursuing this field, but luckily worked several healthcare cases, where he helped develop their digital tech strategies. He then had a “second row seat” to Obamacare’s passing as he built up the healthcare team at the FCC. Around the same time, the importance of technology in healthcare began to grow, prompting the FCC to understand its role in this broader healthcare agenda. Spencer really enjoyed working on this committee, but decided to no longer advise neither the government nor large companies. 

Spencer knew how important mental healthcare was, and how often people go without treatment because they lack the resources to do so. And that’s the premise behind Concert Health, which seeks to bridge this gap, signing agreements with primary care teams in order to provide access to behavioral specialists. The therapists meet with the psychiatrists to discuss potential next steps if a patient doesn’t seem to be improving, and can immediately provide feedback to their PCP. This streamlines communications across different medical practices, making it easier for both the patient and the doctor. 

Although Concert Health was initially just signing agreements with individual practices, the company has begun to partner with larger health systems, such as Common Spirit, one of the largest Catholic health systems. The partnership has already launched in Kern County. 

While COVID brought challenges across the industry, it also opened doors for Concert Health as many practices embraced telehealth, which the company was already equipped to handle. 

Listen in to hear about Spencer’s journey into the healthcare tech industry and the growth Concert Health has experienced despite the global pandemic. 

 

Favorite Tacos:

Taqueria los Países in Tijuana

La Fachada in Sherman Heights

Connect with Spencer:

LinkedIn

Keep up with Concert Health:

Website

LinkedIn

Facebook: @ConcertHealth

Thanks to our partners at Cox Business for their support in enabling us to grow the San Diego ecosystem.