A graduate of Howard University, Georgetown University School of Medicine, and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania’s General Internal Medicine Residency and Fellowship Programs, where he was also a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar, Dr. Tuckson is currently the managing director of Tuckson Health Connections, a health and medical care consulting business that brings people and ideas together to promote optimal health outcomes.
Previously, he enjoyed a long tenure as Executive Vice President and Chief of Medical Affairs for UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune 25 health and wellbeing company, which includes the nation’s largest health insurer and the industry’s most comprehensive health services company. Prior to that, Dr. Tuckson’s career includes leadership positions as Senior Vice President for Professional Standards of the American Medical Association (AMA); President of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles; Senior Vice President for Programs of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation; and the Commissioner of Public Health for the District of Columbia.
Dr. Tuckson continues to be engaged in leadership positions across the continuum of health promotion and medical care delivery including basic science and its translation into clinical practice; the establishment of biotechnology enterprises; community and individual health enhancement; health information technology and data analysis; telemedicine; clinical care delivery and evaluation; and the integration of clinical medicine and public health systems.
Dr. Tuckson is an active member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, serving on, or chairing, several boards and committees. He is also active on the Advisory Committee to the Director of the National Institutes of Health; and serves on the Boards of Cell Therapeutics, Inc.; Howard University and the American Telemedicine Association among others. He has past service on cabinet level advisory committees concerned with health reform, infant mortality, children’s health, violence, and radiation testing.
The author of The Doctor in the Mirror, a book and media presentation focused on patient empowerment to overcome everyday health issues for Americans 55 and older, Dr. Tuckson was honored to be included on the list of the “50 Most Powerful Physician Executives” in healthcare by Modern Healthcare Magazine.