HealthTech Hour

On today's show, Steve Roest, CEO of PocDoc speaks to Dr Natalie Banner is Chief Ethics and Engagement Officer at Genomics England, an organisation owned by the UK Government to provide the evidence and digital systems to drive advances in genomic research and medicine, and to support the implementation of genomics in healthcare. Genomics is being hailed as one of the big developments that will usher in an age of health, wealth and prosperity, but do you really know what it means? And what the ethical issues are around mapping our entire genetic structures? Natalie is responsible for helping Genomics England navigate the complex ethical challenges that arise at the intersection of genomic technology and care, ensuring that the organisation is a trustworthy steward of participants’ data. This includes oversight for research regulatory compliance, extensive public and research participant engagement work, improving transparency and embedding meaningful approaches to equity across its programmes. Natalie has over a decade of experience in the ethics, policy and governance of emerging data-driven health technologies. She previously led the ‘Understanding Patient Data’ initiative based at the Wellcome Trust, as well as the research sector Parliamentary advocacy on GDPR as it was being taken up into domestic law. She has a PhD in Philosophy and previously worked on conceptual issues relating to mental capacity and decision-making in clinical contexts.

Valentina Milanova is the founder and CEO of Daye, a gynae health research and development company seeking to close the gender health gap with proprietary medical and diagnostic devices aimed at common, yet under-served gynae health conditions, ranging from period and pelvic pain to cervical cancer prevention. Valentina is a huge advocate for women's health and this show goes into detail on the chronic underfunding, lack of access and disparities in care women face across the world. It also covers how Valentina is remaking the world and winning, increasing access to pain relief during periods with her pain-relieving tampons and eradicating cervical cancer.

Very special show this week - Steve Roest's guest is Igor Araújo, a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who has an incredible story of pursuing his dream of fighting at the highest level, against all odds. A professional competitor since 2004, Igor has competed for the UFC, M-1 Global, Shooto, KSW, and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter. He has won the European Jujitsu Championships 4 times and now dedicates himself to training future generations. Igor credits his faith in God, his love for his family and his commitment to hard work as critical in beating all the odds stacked against him.

Wendy Powell never accepted that incontinence, back pain, diastasis and intimacy problems were "just part of being a woman". She used her physio background to embark on a mission to fight for the importance of evidence based solutions for Pelvic Floor health in women. In this episiode, Steve Roest and Wendy go into detail on why Pelvic Floor health isn't a minor issue, it affects billions of women worldwide. Wendy Powell is the founder of MUTU System, the digital pelvic health solution clinically validated and contracted by the NHS, and partnered with a major US insurer. She leads innovation in evidence-based, accessible care for women, bridging clinical credibility with scalable digital delivery to close the global care gap in pelvic and core health.

Devika Wood, Steve Roest's guest on this show, is the CEO of Brain+, a pioneering health technology company transforming dementia care through its digital platform, Ayla. Devika is also one of the most inspirational people in European HealthTech. Over the past 13+ years, she has worked across startups and multinationals, from Google and Babylon to founding Vida, which exited in 2019, and leading digital health strategy at AXA Health. Recognised as a Forbes 30 Under 30 entrepreneur, She has also been named King’s Entrepreneur of the Year and featured in the United Nations #SheInnovates campaign for advancing healthcare innovation and championing women in STEM. She is also the co-founder of WEALTH: Women in Health, a growing global community for female leaders in healthcare.

Dan Vahdat is the founder and CEO of Huma, a healthcare AI company valued at over $1 billion, dedicated to accelerating the adoption of digital solutions in healthcare and research. In this episode he speaks to Steve Roest, founder and CEO of PocDoc on his journey to creating Huma, his philosophies on growing complex companies in complex industries and on why he split Huma into units with their own CEO. Huma’s technology has powered more than 1,000 clinical trials and is used in 4,500 hospitals and clinics across the US and beyond. Its platform has screened, triaged, and engaged over 50 million individuals, with millions of active users across its products in more than 70 countries. In 2023, Dan was selected as HealthTech Leader of the Year, and Huma has received the prestigious Prix Galien award twice. Dan is also a member of the World Economic Forum.

Giles Tully is CEO of PinPoint Data Science, the company behind the ‘PinPoint Test’, a completely unique AI-driven test that can diagnose 9 of the top 14 most common cancers faster, better and more affordably than the current NHS process. Giles lost his mother at 16 and has used that event to fuel his career which includes going to China with no Mandarin, learning the language and ending up producing one of China's most popular rock bands and becoming a popstar in China himself.

Pam Garside is one of the most well respected, well connected people in the UK and European healthcare industry. She is an advisor to the NHS, venture capital investors and the UK government. She is also a leading angel investor, having supported generations of entrepreneurs on their journey. Pam Garside has had a career in health care systems and digital health in the UK and internationally and is an angel investor in early-stage health tech companies. She is Chair of Cambridge Angels and sits on the board of Crown Place Venture Capital Trust, as well as founding and co-chairing The Cambridge Health Network.

It's summer, the sun is shining and temptation is high. How many of us are consuming more than we want to, of alcohol or other substances? How many of us want to either reduce or stop, but can't? How can technology play a role? That's where Dr David McLaughan comes in, with his digital app and community, Curb. Many of us want to reduce our consumption of harmful substances, but can't. Some of us would benefit from completely stopping. In addition to Curb, David is one of the UK's leading addiction psychiatrists, works at the Priory and has contributed to international treatment guidelines, academic journals as well as mainstream media outlets. Additionally, he serves as Academic Secretary of The Royal College of Psychiatrists' Addiction Faculty.

The timing for this show is perfect with the upcoming NHS 10 Year Plan being announced imminently. The “NHS is slow to adopt technology” but “the UK has great innovative tech” debate has raged for years. Our guest today Richard Stubbs, the Chief Executive of Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber is a veteran of this back and forth and the perfect guest. Richard and his team work alongside the NHS to understand the challenges faced in delivering patient care, and to support the introduction of new, innovative ways of working that can both improve care, and reduce costs for the NHS. Richard is an eloquent and honest guest with plenty of behind the scenes insight.

In this episode Steve Roest, CEO of PocDoc, speaks to Sharlene Lopez, a healthcare branding expert on how important branding really is in Health - especially given the clinical evidence, regulatory pressures and complexities in clinician and patient care. Does branding really matter? Sharlene Lopez is an award-winning brand and growth strategist with 30 years of experience across healthcare, spanning both pharma and health tech. She is the founder of a strategy-first brand agency focused on health innovation and currently serves as Chief Growth Officer at Alertive, a leading health tech company transforming clinical communication.

This episode exposes why we should all care more about our pharmacies in the UK and pulls the curtain back on how reliant we are on the work they do. It is a follow up to the show with Nick Kaye earlier in the year around the crisis in funding for the industry and risks to patients. Steve Roest, CEO of PocDoc speaks to Richard Harrison, a 25 year veteran of Community Pharmacy and huge advocate for the industry. Richard Harrison is a Pharmacist and the Healthcare Services Manager for Asda, where he leads the development and delivery of innovative pharmacy services across the UK.

It can take up to 5 years to get a first Mental Health appointment in some parts of the UK. Large parts of this backlog are due to increase in demand, but Dr Melinda Rees, today's guest with Steve Roest, argues that administrative burden accounts for a huge amount. Dr. Melinda Rees is CEO of Psyomics, an integrated healthtech and biotech company that is redesigning how we access and interact with mental health services at scale, to eliminate the backlog in appointments. A 30 year NHS Mental Health clinician, Dr Melinda is perfectly positioned to comment on the crisis and provides a coherent, compelling vision for the future.

Steve Roest, CEO of PocDoc speaks to Dr Amar Ahmed, one of the UK's leading GPs and a long-time advocate of introducing technology to solve the massive problems we're seeing across the UK in frontline healthcare. Amar is a regular at No.10 and the United Nations, where he advises on integrating new tech into the healthcare system. Dr Amar Ahmed has been a GP partner for 24 years at a busy family GP surgery in Cheshire. Known for pioneering innovation in primary care, he has developed practical, award-winning solutions for the NHS frontline.

Mo is the inspirational founder and CEO of Patients Know Best which today has over 5 million registered patients and is working with over 100 health providers to release around 26.5 million data points every month. His mission is to give all patients access to their health data because it leads to better health for everyone. This is a fascinating deep-dive into an area that is continually touted as "the future of health" by governments, think tanks and venture capital alike. Mo is a multi-published author and possibly the world's leading expert in patient data.

Speaking to Steve Roest, CEO of PocDoc this week are Kelly and Morgan the co-founders of Perci Health, the UK’s largest virtual cancer clinic, delivering early detection, comprehensive cancer management, and survivorship support. They are on a mission to radically improve global cancer outcomes. After you've done the standard treatments, it can often feel like you're being kicked out without any plan. That's where Kelly and Morgan's company, Perci Health, comes in. Looking at NHS-approved clinical support, mental health support, physiotherapy and nutrition. Their view is that more and more people will be living WITH cancer, not dying FROM cancer, so focusing on helping people live the best life is their mission.

Steve Roest, CEO of PocDoc speaks to Nick Kaye, the Chair of the National Pharmacy Association. He is on a mission to save Community Pharmacy, in the face of huge changes in demand for healthcare and demands from Government about what pharmacies have to deliver in the new health landscape in the UK. He is a third-generation community pharmacist, cares deeply about the entire industry and is passionate about how exciting the future of community pharmacy is.

Steve Roest, CEO of PocDoc speaks to Shaun Stafford, who is a multi-time world champion in mens's fitness, founder of a leading chain of gyms (Cith Athletic) and was one of the very first official fitness social media influencers. He has been Spencer Matthew's personal trainer for over 10 years and helped Spencer on his recent world record breaking desert marathon event. Shaun is an advocate for Men's Health, being an ambassador for Manual, the men's health brand. Shaun and Steve go back 20 years from their time at university together.

Steve Roest, CEO of PocDoc speaks to Nora Cavani, CEO and co-founder of Alba Health, about the importance of the first 1000 days of a child's microbiome - from pregnancy through to the early years. Nora is passionate that the first 1000 days dictates what health issues may occur in the future and by focusing on developing a healthy, diverse microbiome early, conditions such as allergies, eczema and potentially even chronic diseases could be prevented. Alba Health is the only gut health business focusing on children with access to a unique longitudinal dataset. Nora and Alba are helping parents and children all across Europe (now including UK!) live healthier lives from an early age.

Jane McLelland is a 3 time cancer survivor and advocate of a "middle path" - combining traditional proven treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy with previously unheralded approaches to nutrition and other areas of care. Russell Hopson is an established leader in the global advertising industry, having led agencies in the UK and Australia. He is currently in a drug trial having been diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer in April 2023. He was given between 4 and 6 months to live and 2 years later, he credits Jane's mindset with much of his positive approach to tackling his cancer. This show is a very emotional but balanced approach to a sensitive subject.