About Tammy Hawes
Tammy Hawes is a healthcare technology executive, founder, and operator. She founded Virsys12 in 2011, scaled it to Inc. 5000 recognition, and led its 2025 acquisition by HealthStream, where she now serves as VP, Payer Solutions. She is based in Brentwood, Tennessee.
I have spent my career at the intersection of healthcare and technology. The common thread across my career has been a singular focus: leveraging technology to solve complex operational challenges in an industry that impacts everyone.
Before founding Virsys12 in 2011, I served as CIO and CTO for several healthcare organizations, including Primex, Paradigm Health, Theraphysics, and Behavioral Healthcare. Those roles taught me the reality of enterprise technology—what works in theory versus what survives contact with legacy systems and entrenched workflows.
I started Virsys12 because I saw an acute need for modern, cloud-based infrastructure in healthcare. I bootstrapped the company for seven years before raising our first outside funding, led by Salesforce Ventures, in 2018, then grew it strategically, earning Inc. 5000 recognition along the way. In 2025, HealthStream acquired Virsys12. Today, I serve as VP, Payer Solutions within HealthStream, bringing the solutions we built to an even larger scale.
That same instinct now points at AI. I write and speak on where artificial intelligence is genuinely useful in healthcare technology — and where it’s hype — and the platform I built at Virsys12 brought automation and early AI into healthcare workflows well before it was the default.
What drives me now is the same thing that drove me on day one: the profound impact of improving the underlying infrastructure of healthcare. I am an operator at heart. I believe in building resilient systems, empowering technical talent, and executing with precision.
Leadership & experience
My career arc is rooted in engineering. From early IoT and wireless innovations at Primex to pioneering enterprise applications on the Salesforce platform, I have always gravitated toward technologies that fundamentally change how work is done.
Founding and scaling Virsys12 was the culmination of that technical foundation and years of operational leadership. We built the company deliberately, eventually catching the attention of HealthStream, leading to our acquisition and my current role in enterprise leadership.
HealthStream
VP, Payer Solutions — 2025–Present
Leading the strategic direction and expansion of payer solutions following the acquisition of Virsys12.
Virsys12
Founder & CEO — 2011–2025
Founded and scaled the healthcare technology consultancy and product company. Recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies.
Earlier leadership
CIO / CTO roles
Held executive technology leadership positions across multiple healthcare organizations, including Primex, Paradigm Health, Theraphysics, and Behavioral Healthcare.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Tammy Hawes?
Tammy Hawes is a healthcare technology executive, founder, and operator based in Brentwood, Tennessee.
What is Virsys12?
Virsys12 is the healthcare technology company Tammy Hawes founded in 2011 and led to its 2025 acquisition by HealthStream. Virsys12 built a healthcare technology, V12 Enterprise, serving payers, health plans and healthcare organizations.
What does Tammy Hawes do now?
Tammy Hawes serves as VP, Payer Solutions at HealthStream and pursues board and advisory roles.
What does Tammy Hawes write about?
Tammy Hawes writes about AI in healthcare, leadership, and lessons from founding, scaling, and selling a company.
When did Tammy Hawes sell Virsys12?
HealthStream acquired Virsys12 in 2025. Tammy Hawes founded the company in 2011 and led it through the acquisition, and she now serves as VP, Payer Solutions at HealthStream.
Where is Tammy Hawes based?
Tammy Hawes is based in the Nashville area — Brentwood, Tennessee.
Is Tammy Hawes available for board or advisory roles?
Yes. Tammy Hawes considers select board and advisory roles with growth-stage healthcare and technology companies, bringing the perspective of a founder who built, scaled, and exited a company. Details are on her Board & Advisory page.
Does Tammy Hawes speak at events?
Yes. Tammy speaks to founders, leadership teams, and industry audiences about building and scaling technology companies, navigating acquisition, and adopting enterprise AI with discipline. See her Speaking page.
What companies has Tammy Hawes led?
Tammy Hawes founded and led Virsys12 (2011–2025) and previously held CIO and CTO roles at healthcare organizations including Primex, Paradigm Health, Theraphysics, and Behavioral Healthcare. She currently serves as VP, Payer Solutions at HealthStream.
What is Tammy Hawes’s view on AI in healthcare?
Tammy Hawes writes and speaks about where AI is genuinely useful in healthcare technology versus where it is hype, drawing on having brought automation and early AI into healthcare workflows at Virsys12 well before it was the default.
What boards does Tammy Hawes serve on?
Tammy Hawes served on the Board of Directors of the Nashville Health Care Council (2022–2023) and now serves on its Content Development Committee, and she was previously Finance Chair of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization in Nashville.
Who invested in Virsys12?
Virsys12 was bootstrapped from its 2011 founding until 2018, when it raised its first outside funding in a round led by Salesforce Ventures. HealthStream acquired the company in 2025.
How can I contact Tammy Hawes?
Contact Tammy Hawes using the contact form on this site — choose “Board & advisory”, “Speaking”, or “General inquiry” as the subject — or connect on LinkedIn.