DIRECT CARE START UP
PHysician Consulting & coachinG
Start from a blueprint, not a blank page
Building a direct care practice in a medicine subspecialty raises its own set of questions — and offers fewer maps. Dr. Sandra Sobel, along with Dr. Loren Sobel, built Summon Health into a thriving direct care endocrine metabolic practice in Pittsburgh, and now offers physicians in any field the model, the documented systems, and the vetted team behind it.
Every recommendation traces back to a decision made — and tested — inside a practice that runs on it today.
One-on-one consulting shaped around your field, your market, and your goals. Not a course, not a cohort.
Direct introductions to the web, marketing, and media teams behind Summon Health's growth.
The same model, a different set of questions
Direct primary care built the road. It proved that membership-based, insurance-free medicine is viable, and it produced conferences, guidebooks, and a community willing to help newcomers find their footing. Medical subspecialty practices have tried building on that same foundation, but then encounter scenarios unique to sub-specialization that DPC guidance cannot fully address — Medicare opt-out in a subspecialty context, lab and procedure logistics, referral relationships with the system you just left, and pricing where there are few comparables to work from.
This consulting exists to shorten that stretch — for specialists who want to launch with a successful model rather than delay in assembling one from scratch.
Not business consultants who serve physicians — physicians who left the traditional system and built the practice themselves.
Endocrine, cardiology, GI, rheumatology, psychiatry. The structure adapts to your scope and your market.
Physicians considering the same move increasingly reach out to Summon Health to understand how it was done.
The people who built it
Sandra Indacochea Sobel, MD
Founder · Endocrinology · Lead Consultant
Dr. Sobel founded Summon Health, building it into a thriving direct care endocrine metabolic practice and developing every system this consulting draws on — the fee structure, the patient workflows, the marketing approach, and the vendor relationships. She leads every consultation and coaching engagement personally.
Loren Sobel, MD
Practice Development · Consulting Team
Dr. Loren Sobel has been part of building Summon Health from the beginning and runs an independent practice of his own. He takes part in consultations, contributing perspective on the structural and operational side of building a practice outside the traditional employment model.
Two ways to work together
Both engagements are bespoke — built around your field and your market. Neither is a course. You work directly with Drs. Sandra and Loren Sobel.
Start-Up Strategy Consultation
The foundation to launch from — delivered in a single engagement.
You walk away with
- The Start-Up Protocol — the full launch checklist, annotated with specific recommendations at every step
- Proprietary patient forms — the working documents Summon Health uses every day, yours to adapt
- Direct introductions to proven partners: website design & management, organic social media, paid ads (Meta, Google, TikTok), and email/SMS marketing
- A 60-minute strategy session mapping all of it to your field, your market, and your timeline
6-Month Consultation & Coaching
Physician advisors from first decision through launch.
Everything in the Start-Up Strategy Consultation, plus
- Five 30-minute coaching calls across five months, timed to where you are in your launch
- Fee schedule development — membership pricing, initial consultation and follow-up fees, benchmarked against a working model
- Branding & positioning — logo, elevator pitch, and how to become known in your market (blogs, newsletters, panels, conferences)
- Medicare strategy for your field and your state
- Technology stack selection — EHR, scheduling, payments, patient communication
- Patient review strategy — acquiring and publishing the reviews that drive volume
What "bespoke" means here: no recordings, no group cohort, no generic curriculum. Your practice, your market, your plan — with the people who built the model in the room.
You don't start from a blank page
The Summon Blueprint is the documented build of a working practice — the launch protocol, the patient forms, the workflows, and the vendor contacts, with specific recommendations attached at each step. Every client receives it in full. A sample of what it covers:
Practice Structure
- Scope: general or specialized
- Medicare opt-out decision
- + recommendations
Office & Operations
- Physical space essentials
- Equipment & supply sourcing
- + recommendations
Marketing
- Website, blogs, newsletters
- SEO & AI search optimization
- + recommendations
Logistics
- Patient inquiry workflows
- Fees & membership structure
- + recommendations
An experienced team in every corner you'll need
Finding trustworthy vendors is one of the most expensive parts of starting a practice — a bad website or marketing contract can cost a year of momentum. Every referral in this network has been tried, tested, and retained by Summon Health through its own growth. Clients receive direct introductions, not just names on a list.
Build, maintenance, and conversion-focused updates.
Content strategy and management that builds local trust.
Meta, Google, and TikTok campaigns that fill a panel.
Newsletters and patient communication that retain.
Everything up front, then tuned to what you find
Month one delivers the whole package — the full Blueprint, the forms, the introductions, and the strategy session — so you can begin building immediately. The five calls that follow are not a curriculum. They track your practice as it comes to life: what is working, what is not, and what needs adjusting. A blueprint is only as good as the physician deploying it.
Blueprint, forms, and introductions delivered. Strategy session maps your launch.
Entity, fees, and vendors in motion. Review the first decisions before they harden.
Branding, technology, and workflows pressure-tested before doors open.
What inquiries are converting, what is stalling, and where the friction sits.
Marketing performance, reviews, and referral flow reviewed against real numbers.
Fees, capacity, and what the next six months should look like.
The sequence above is typical, not fixed. Calls are scheduled to your launch and shaped by what your practice is actually encountering.
This consulting is a fit if you are
- A physician in any field who wants to build a direct care practice and would rather start from a tested model than assemble one from scratch
- Currently employed and planning your exit and need to know what to put in place before you leave
- Already launching, but weighing the decisions that are hardest to research: pricing, Medicare, marketing spend, or technology
- Practicing in a specialty where the existing direct care guidance doesn't quite reach your situation
Summon the practice you were meant to build
Work directly with the physicians who built the model — and start from a blueprint that already works.
Tell us a little about your practice using the form below, and we will be in touch.