Apptly adds four healthcare leaders to advisory board

Apptly Health Technologies Corp. has expanded its Advisory Board with the appointment of four healthcare leaders as the company continues to develop its direct-pay marketplace, UberDoc. The company said the additions are intended to strengthen its strategic advisory capabilities as it grows its nationwide platform for transparent, upfront specialty care.

The new advisory board members are Dr. Eric Bricker, Dr. Diana Girnita, Dr. Cristin Dickerson, and Dr. Fred Liss. In announcing the appointments, Apptly said the group brings experience across healthcare finance, direct-pay specialty care, employer-sponsored healthcare, and physician leadership.

According to the company, the advisors have each built businesses, physician organizations, or care delivery models that have supported price transparency, direct-pay specialty care, and employer access to healthcare in the United States. Apptly said that collective experience will provide strategic insight as it continues to expand its physician network and employer relationships.

Dr. Paula M. Muto, the company’s founder and interim chief executive officer, said each of the physicians has built or led organizations that show the value of transparent, direct-pay healthcare. She said their combined experience in healthcare finance, employer solutions, physician leadership, and specialty care will help Apptly as it works to expand its physician network, strengthen employer and hospital relationships, and build a marketplace that increases access to transparent, direct-pay specialty care.

Dr. Eric Bricker is an internal medicine physician and co-founder and former chief medical officer of Compass Professional Health Services. Apptly said the healthcare navigation company grew to 1.8 million members across more than 2,000 employer clients, including T-Mobile and Southwest Airlines, before it was acquired by Alight Solutions in 2018. Bricker is also the founder of AHealthcareZ, a healthcare-finance education platform followed by more than 130,000 people across YouTube and LinkedIn, and he is the author of Healthcare Money Campfire Stories.

Dr. Diana Girnita is the founder and chief executive officer of Rheumatologist OnCall. Apptly said the Direct Specialty Care Alliance identifies the practice as the first U.S. telehealth practice dedicated to rheumatology and autoimmune care. Girnita is double board-certified in internal medicine and rheumatology, holds a PhD in immunology, and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard. She also co-founded the Direct Specialty Care Alliance to help specialists transition to the direct-pay model.

Dr. Cristin Dickerson is a board-certified radiologist and the founder and chief executive officer of Green Imaging. Apptly described Green Imaging as a national direct-pay imaging network founded in 2011 that has grown to thousands of imaging facilities serving individuals and employer-sponsored health plans across the United States. Dickerson completed fellowship training in cancer imaging at MD Anderson Cancer Center and is the author of Aligned: How Patients, Physicians, and Employers Are Working Together to Transform Healthcare.

Dr. Fred Liss is an orthopedic and hand surgeon with more than 30 years of clinical practice. Apptly said he has been recognized as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor since 2015. Liss founded and led a physician-owned hospital from 2008 to 2023. He also serves as chair of the Board of Physician-Led Healthcare for America and is a general partner at PhyCap Fund, an early-stage venture fund founded and managed by practicing physicians.

Apptly said the appointments further enhance its strategic capabilities as it expands its physician network, employer relationships, and nationwide direct-pay healthcare marketplace. The company’s platform, UberDoc, connects patients directly with board-certified specialists through transparent, upfront pricing.

The company said the platform eliminates traditional referral requirements and insurance barriers while offering faster access to specialty care. It added that the service includes more than 5,000 specialist physicians and clinicians across more than 55 specialties in all 50 states.

Apptly said the platform is designed to help patients access timely care while also helping physicians expand patient access and grow their practices. The company was founded by Dr. Paula M. Muto.

The announcement also included a forward-looking statements disclaimer. Apptly said the release contains forward-looking information about the expected contributions of the advisory board members, the company’s growth strategy, marketplace expansion initiatives, physician network development, employer and healthcare industry relationships, and commercial objectives.

The company said those statements are based on current expectations, estimates, projections, and assumptions, and that actual results could differ because of risks and uncertainties. It said those factors include market conditions, the company’s ability to execute its business strategy, adoption of its marketplace, development of commercial relationships, general economic conditions, and risks described in the company’s public filings available on SEDAR+.

Apptly said there can be no assurance the initiatives described in the release will achieve the results currently contemplated. It also said readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information and that, except as required by law, it has no obligation to update or revise those statements because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

The company’s investor relations and media contact was listed as Meghna Deshraj at meghna@uber-docs.com, with apptlyhealthtech.com provided as the company website. The release identified the company as Apptly Health Technologies Corp., operator of the UberDoc direct-pay healthcare marketplace.

The appointment of the four physicians comes as Apptly continues to position UberDoc as a nationwide marketplace centered on specialty care with transparent pricing. In the company’s description, the platform is meant to simplify access to specialists by removing insurance-related barriers and traditional referral requirements, while giving patients clearer information about pricing before care is delivered.

Apptly did not report any changes to its operating metrics, revenue, or patient volumes in this announcement. The release focused on the advisory board additions and the background of the four appointees, along with the company’s existing marketplace model and its continued expansion efforts.

The company said the new advisors add expertise that aligns with its strategy of working with physicians, employers, and healthcare organizations. No additional terms of the appointments were reported in the source.

Apptly also did not report any specific timetable or financial impact tied to the advisory board expansion. The announcement was presented as a strategic update aimed at supporting the company’s broader growth in direct-pay specialty care.