Digital Health Unplugged: What's next for the 2025 Pitchfest winners?

Digital Health reporter Jordan Sollof is joined by returning guest Mark Hutchinson, vice-president of healthcare strategy and transformation at Altera Digital Health, to discuss electronic patient record (EPR) procurement, optimisation and delivering tangible benefits. Hutchinson shares his unique perspective, shaped by his time working within the NHS and leading on EPR deployments at several large NHS trusts, on how organisations can take a smarter, more sustainable route to digital maturity. He highlights some real-world success stories that show how a modular, interoperable approach to EPR implementation not only reduces risk but enables frontline teams to realise immediate benefits while laying the foundation for long-term impact. Lastly, Hutchinson talks about how trusts can rethink procurement strategies to better align with their digital transformation goals and reveals what he believes are the most exciting opportunities for innovation in healthcare technology over the next five to ten years. Guest: Mark Hutchinson, vice-president of healthcare strategy and transformation at Altera Digital Health  

The latest episode of Digital Health Unplugged, brought to you in partnership with Optum, delves into the firm's acquisition of EMIS and what it means for the NHS and health technology sector. Host Jordan Sollof is joined by Dr Shaun O’Hanlon, group chief medical officer at Optum, to discuss why it was necessary for EMIS to become Optum and whether there is an element of risk in losing the EMIS name which has been well-known for several decades in the healthcare sector. O’Hanlon talks about the future for the population health and vaccination programmes, which EMIS previously played a major role in, and whether Optum’s focus will remain on the UK or shift to operating globally. He also outlines his vision for the future of primary health technology and what the key plans and goals are for the future for Optum. Digital Health would like to thank its partner, Optum, for this episode. Guest: Dr Shaun O’Hanlon, group chief medical officer at Optum  

Jordan Sollof is joined by representatives of the two Digital Health Rewired 2025 Pitchfest winners, Asclepius MedTech Limited and Daysix. Michael Morgan-Curran, chief executive of Asclepius, winner in the pre-revenue generating category and Ben Beaumont, chief technology officer at Daysix, the revenue generating Pitchfest champion, explain what their solutions are and how their companies were formed. The pair pick out some key highlights and achievements since the start-ups were founded before discussing why they applied for this year’s Pitchfest and what their experience of the process was like. They speak about how winning the competition has already and will continue to help them moving forward, before laying out their goals and ambitions for the coming months and years. Lastly, Morgan-Curran and Beaumont give their expert advice to health tech start-ups considering applying for Pitchfest 2026. Guests: Michael Morgan-Curran, chief executive of Asclepius MedTech Limited Ben Beaumont, chief technology officer at Daysix  

The 100th episode of Digital Health Unplugged sees host Jordan Sollof joined by Dr Lia Ali to chat about the value of being a Digital Health Networks Advisory Panel member ahead of this year’s elections. Ali, a consultant psychiatrist and clinical advisor at the NHS England transformation directorate, explains what the advisory panels do and why they are vital for the digital health community. She discusses being a chief clinical information officer (CCIO) advisory panel member for the last few years, including what motivated her to apply, her most memorable experiences and some of the important issues the panel covered and worked on. Lastly, she shines a light on the impact the advisory panels have on the wider digital health community before encouraging listeners to nominate themselves or a peer to stand in the upcoming elections. Nominations opened for the advisory panel elections on 3 March 2025 and will close on 11 April 2025. You can nominate yourself or a peer to stand in the upcoming Digital Health Networks CCIO, chief information officer (CIO) and chief nursing information officer (CNIO) Advisory Panel elections here. Guest: Dr Lia Ali, consultant psychiatrist, clinical advisor at NHSE transformation directorate and Digital Health CCIO Network Advisory Panel member  

Digital Health Unplugged host Jordan Sollof reports from day two of Rewired 2025 at the NEC in Birmingham. Sollof chats to more speakers and exhibitors to find out their event highlights and the key topics for digital and data this year. He catches up on the latest news from the NHS Innovation Accelerator 2025 launch, discusses clinical safety in AI, tries out a patient entertainment system from Airwave Healthcare and finds out about a digital health initiative at James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Guests: Mindy Simon, co-director at NHS Innovation Accelerator Mark Hutchinson, senior vice president: healthcare strategy & transformation, EMEA at Altera Maxx Gattlin, commercial director X-on Health Dean Moody, healthcare services director at Airwave Healthcare   Robert Watson, chief nursing projects officer at James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust  

Podcast host and reporter Jordan Sollof records live from day one of Rewired 2025 at the NEC in Birmingham. After taking in the atmosphere of the show, Sollof speaks to speakers, session chairs and exhibitors to find out about their hot topics for digital and data this year. Sollof catches up with Damian Pearce, chief commercial officer at Stalis to chat about the impact of AI on healthcare and some of the highlights on the AI and Data Stage. Next Alan Payne, group product and engineering director at Rewired 2025 co-sponsor, The Access Group, discusses the key takeaways from his earlier session on ‘Putting people at the heart of health and social care’ on the Integrated Care Stage. Sollof asks Lee Rickles, chief information officer at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, about the government’s disbandment of NHS England and the possible impact on the digital health sector. Rickles also discusses the sessions he is chairing on ‘Putting people at the heart of health and social care’ and ‘Enhancing cross-sector partnerships: From primary to communities’. Finally, Sollof joins Paul Deffley, UK chief medical officer at Alcidion at the company’s stand to discuss what will be coming up at his day two session on ‘Transforming clinical support with digital systems and platforms’, which will take place on the Best Practice Showcase Stage. Guests: Lee Rickles, chief information officer at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust Damian Pearce, chief commercial officer at Stalis Alan Payne, group product and engineering director at The Access Group Paul Deffley, UK chief medical officer at Alcidion  

Jordan Sollof is joined by Kaye Reynolds and Sascha Mullen to delve into how ‘legacy debt’ in the NHS is risking patient safety and the important role that clinical safety officers (CSOs) play. Legacy debt refers to a historical failure to comply with digital clinical safety standards. The Digital Health Networks CSO Council has issued an advisory statement for NHS trusts and integrated care boards about the potential consequences of not completing tasks such as hazard logging and safety case reporting for software. Reynolds, lead digital CSO at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, and Mullen, chief nursing information officer and CSO at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, discuss what the issues could mean for patient safety and what trusts need to do to help tackle the problem. They also highlight the role of CSOs and why there need to be more across the NHS, before leaving listeners with their final key takeaways for healthcare leaders. The podcast follows a story from Digital Health News on the Digital Health Networks CSO Council issuing an advisory statement for NHS trusts and integrated care boards about the potential consequences of not completing tasks such as hazard logging and safety case reporting for software. Guests: Kaye Reynolds, lead digital CSO at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust Sascha Mullen, chief nursing information officer and CSO at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust  

This episode of Digital Health Unplugged sees Euan McComiskie and Eddie Olla delve into the use of generative AI in healthcare and what the key risks of the technology are for clinicians and patients. McComiskie, health informatics lead at The Charted Society of Physiotherapy and Digital Health Networks CNIO Advisory Panel member, recently spoke about the Digital Health Networks position statement to Digital Health’s news editor Tammy Lovell, and expands on his thoughts in the episode. Olla, chief digital information officer at NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), joins in on the discussion, highlighting some key risks, such as hallucinations and bias in AI algorithms. The pair discuss how we can balance excitement for AI with caution and what medical schools’ approach to using AI should be, before rounding off by predicting what will happen in the coming months and years with regards to AI in healthcare. Guests: Euan McComiskie, physiotherapist, health informatics lead at The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and member of Digital Health Networks CNIO Advisory Panel Eddie Olla, chief digital information officer at NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB  

The latest episode of Digital Health Unplugged features Holly Coole, senior manager for digital mental health at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), talking about the regulation of digital mental health technologies (DMHTs). Tammy Lovell, news editor at Digital Health News, chats to Coole about the three-year Digital Mental Health Project, which aims to improve outcomes for people with mental health conditions by ensuring that both medical professionals and the public have safe and effective access to DMHTs. In the podcast they discuss how the project, led by the MHRA in partnership with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, aims to provide clarity around the key considerations for the regulation and valuation of DMHTs.   They also talk about the challenges of regulating this area and why it is so important to protect patient safety, and ensure access to effective products for mental health.  Coole, who is a registered mental health nurse, co-authored a paper on the project, published in The Lancet Digital Health in January 2025. Listen to this episode to discover what this project means for the future of mental health technology in the UK. Guest: Holly Coole, senior manager for digital mental health at the MHRA  

In the first episode of the new year, Jordan Sollof, reporter at Digital Health News chats to Rachel Dunscombe, chief executive of OpenEHR International, about the importance of healthcare data, electronic patient records (EPRs) and having more female representation in digital health.  Dunscombe stresses the importance of standardised, quality data in improving healthcare and outcomes and what AI is capable of achieving in 2025 and beyond. She also gives her take on the UK EPR market and whether anything more needs to be done to make better use of the platforms, before highlighting the importance of women having leadership roles and there being diversity in the digital health sector. Dunscombe is a confirmed keynote speaker at Digital Health Rewired 2025. She looks ahead to the event and explains what she is hoping to take from it and get across to the audience. Digital Health Rewired takes place on 18-19 March 2025 at the NEC in Birmingham and is free for those in the NHS and public sector. Guest: Rachel Dunscombe, chief executive at OpenEHR International