Dr. Amir Tabibnia's path to Sollis runs through some of the most respected names in emergency medicine. He completed his residency at UMass Medical School–Baystate and an advanced emergency medicine ultrasound fellowship through UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center/Olive View–UCLA Medical Center, and he currently serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Before joining Sollis, he was an attending emergency physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he directed emergency ultrasound and served as Senior Consultant and Clinical Champion for substance use disorders. He’s also a Key Opinion Leader for GE HealthCare Ultrasound.

This extensive training and experience has taught him how to think quickly, manage uncertainty, make lifesaving decisions under pressure at a moment's notice. It’s also shown him where the traditional healthcare system falls short. 

"Physicians are constrained by fragmented care, insurance limitations, limited access to emerging technology, and an inability to remain involved until patients reach a meaningful resolution of their medical problems,” Dr. Tabibnia says.

It was these systemic shortcomings that attracted him to Sollis. "Here, we can think creatively, use technology thoughtfully, spend the necessary time with our patients, and remain involved through diagnosis, treatment, and the development of a clear plan for next steps," he explains. 

Now, as Regional Medical Director of Southern California, Dr. Tabibnia oversees clinical care and medical operations across Sollis’s Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and Manhattan Beach centers, leading the concierge primary care providers (PCPs) whose patients rely on Sollis for urgent, after-hours, and emergency care.

Below, Dr. Tabibnia shares what this partnership actually looks like in practice—from the first handoff to the follow-up call—and why he believes it represents a better way to care for patients.

Why Sollis and Why Partnerships Matter

What drew you to working at Sollis?

My career in traditional emergency medicine taught me how to think quickly, manage uncertainty, and make lifesaving decisions under pressure at a moment's notice. The work was exciting, intellectually challenging, and procedurally demanding. It continually pushed me to sharpen my skills, expand my knowledge, and remain at the top of my craft. At the same time, it showed me the limitations of our traditional healthcare system. Too often, physicians are constrained by fragmented care, insurance limitations, limited access to emerging technology, and an inability to remain involved until patients reach a meaningful resolution of their medical problems.

Sollis gave me the opportunity to preserve everything I love about emergency medicine while removing many of those barriers. We can think creatively, use technology thoughtfully, spend the necessary time with our patients, and remain involved through diagnosis, treatment, and the development of a clear plan for next steps.

I was also drawn to the opportunity to lead an exceptional group of physicians, PAs, NPs, nurses, and clinical team members as we continue building a model of care unlike anything else I have experienced in medicine. Working in concierge medicine has broadened my skill set and helped me become a more complete physician.

What do you love about working with different primary care concierge medical providers through our medical partnerships initiatives?

I have a long background in academic medicine, where I have always valued interdisciplinary and interdepartmental collaboration. Working closely with concierge primary care physicians brings that same collaborative spirit directly to the bedside.

A patient's primary physician provides longitudinal knowledge, context, and clinical insight that can significantly improve the care we deliver during an acute illness. They are an invaluable resource, and involving them allows us to develop a more thoughtful and individualized diagnostic and treatment plan.

Just as importantly, I know the patient will not become lost in the medical system after the immediate problem has been addressed. Once we stabilize and optimize the acute condition, the patient has a trusted physician who can continue that care over the long term.

Concierge physicians are also accustomed to thinking beyond the limitations of traditional healthcare. I genuinely enjoy collaborating with extremely intelligent and talented physician colleagues who share our desire to continually raise the standard of care. I learn from our medical partners regularly, and those relationships continue to make me a better physician.

 

 

How Medical Partnership Actually Works

When a partner doctor sends a patient to Sollis, what does that handoff look like? How is it different from sending someone to a traditional ER where you don't know what's on the other side?

A handoff can occur in many different ways, including a written prescription or letter, an email, a direct phone call to the in-clinic provider, or even a text message. Regardless of the method, we make sure the referring physician's clinical thinking, prior considerations, and specific concerns are incorporated into our diagnostic and treatment plan.

This is very different from a traditional emergency department, where a meaningful physician-to-physician handoff can be difficult to achieve consistently. Having worked at both Cedars-Sinai and UCLA, I understand how challenging it can be for an outside physician to directly reach the emergency physician caring for their patient.

At Sollis, our medical partners have direct access to dedicated clinic phones that are consistently answered by our care team. There is no need to navigate a triage system or communicate through multiple intermediaries—they receive direct access to our clinical providers. Our local Directors of Medical Partnerships and medical directors, including me, are also available by phone or text whenever additional assistance is needed.

How well do partner doctors typically know the Sollis physicians they're working with, and at what point does that start to feel like a real professional relationship rather than just a referral?

Some of our medical partners know our physicians before they ever send their first patient, through personal introductions, center tours, meetings, and direct conversations. For others, the relationship begins with the first shared patient and develops through repeated collaboration.

It starts to feel like a true professional relationship when the referring physician sees that we answer the phone, respect their clinical judgment, incorporate their knowledge of the patient, and reliably keep them informed.

Over time, that consistency builds trust. We stop feeling like an outside referral destination and begin to function as an extension of their medical practice. The patient benefits from having multiple physicians working together as one coordinated team.

Closing the Communication Gap

Can you walk us through what closed-loop communication looks like in practice? What does a partner doctor actually receive after their patient is seen?

We customize communication based on the preferences of each individual medical partner. Some physicians want a direct phone call only when there is an urgent or potentially serious finding. Others prefer a call or text after every encounter, even for relatively minor concerns. Many fall somewhere in between—we're happy to tailor our communication to the way each physician practices and the level of involvement they'd like to maintain.

At a minimum, the medical partner receives a copy of the encounter documentation and aftercare plan from every visit, sent directly to their office. This allows the physician to review our evaluation, relevant findings, treatment provided, and follow-up recommendations.

For urgent, unexpected, or time-sensitive findings, we communicate directly by phone or text. Our goal is for the patient's primary physician to understand what occurred at Sollis and to have the information needed to continue the patient's care without unnecessary gaps or uncertainty.

If a medical partner doctor has a question or concern about a patient they've sent to Sollis, how do they reach someone, and who do they reach?

In Southern California, each Sollis center has a dedicated cell phone that our medical partners can call or text directly, allowing them to reach the in-clinic provider without navigating a complicated phone system or multiple intermediaries.

For broader questions, more complex coordination, or anything requiring additional support, our Directors of Medical Partnerships and medical directors are also readily available by phone or text. The process is intentionally simple—we want our physician partners to know that when they have a question or concern, they can quickly reach someone who understands the clinical situation and can help.

 

 

What Our Medical Partners Say—and Why It Matters for Patients

What's the most common feedback you hear from our medical partner doctors, and is there a moment that sticks with you that illustrates why this model makes a real difference for a patient?

One of the most common things I hear from our medical partners is that they cannot imagine how they previously operated their practices without Sollis.

Just as many physicians develop a new appreciation for the practice of medicine after transitioning from traditional to concierge care, our partners recognize how much more effectively they can focus on prevention, longevity, and longitudinal patient relationships when Sollis is available to manage sudden illnesses, injuries, and acute changes in health. Many concierge physicians feel an enormous sense of relief knowing they no longer have to manage every urgent concern on their own.

They also appreciate the responsiveness, direct access, and peace of mind that come from knowing their patients will not disappear into the traditional emergency medicine "black box." Their patients can receive sophisticated urgent or emergent evaluation, advanced diagnostics, and treatment while still experiencing highly personalized care. The primary physician remains part of the conversation rather than learning what happened days later through an incomplete record or the patient's recollection.

The moment that stands out to me isn't one specific case, but a pattern we see repeatedly: a patient is evaluated quickly, the necessary diagnostic testing and treatment are completed in a coordinated setting, and the primary physician is updated with a clear plan. The patient improves and feels cared for, the medical partner remains informed, and there's a seamless transition from the acute episode back to longitudinal care.

What do our medical partners love about partnering with Sollis?

Partnering with Sollis allows our medical partners to deliver the best possible care to their patients. It gives them more time to focus on prevention and longitudinal care, access to centers that are open 24 hours a day, and, ultimately, peace of mind.

Sollis becomes an extension of their practice rather than simply another place to send a patient. We allow the primary physician to remain closely involved while giving both the physician and the patient access to a team that can rapidly evaluate, diagnose, treat, and coordinate the next steps in care.