HealthTech Hour

Agentic AI, AI agents, large language models, AI in healthcare, AI regulation - Robin Matthews, Chief Technology and Product Officer at PocDoc, on what AI really changes for health tech, and what it doesn't.Are AI agents self-aware, or just doing exactly what we asked? Steve Roest sits down with Robin Matthews, who leads technology at PocDoc (the company Steve founded, and the show's sponsor). Robin explains how agents cleared PocDoc's bug backlog almost overnight, why the hundreds of engineers he's interviewed are split on AI, and why AI in healthcare doesn't mean AI making clinical decisions, yet.In this episode:* How AI grew from predictive text into agents that build software* Why so many software engineers are resisting AI* LLMs, agents and software factories explained in plain English* Why AI in health tech doesn't mean AI doctors* When AI could start making clinical decisions* Are AI agents self-aware? What "going rogue" really means* Why AI regulation may be out of date before it's finished🎧 Follow HealthTech Hour so you never miss an episode. New conversations bi-weekly with the founders, clinicians, journalists and leaders shaping the future of healthcare. Also live on UK Health Radio.

AI in healthcare, the future of the NHS, digital health and the single patient record - Sarah Siegel, Global Healthcare Sector Leader at Deloitte, on the AI that left patients feeling better than a human call, and what the NHS can learn from the rest of the world.What if an AI could make patients feel better than a phone call from a person? In a Canadian pilot, elderly patients recovering from surgery stayed on the phone with an AI avatar two to three times longer than with human callers, and reported higher wellbeing afterwards. Steve Roest sits down with Sarah Siegel, who swapped 14-hour days shipping sheet glass in Pennsylvania for a career in healthcare, to unpack why it worked, why she still feels “a little morally confused” about it, and why she believes the next few years will be the most exciting in healthcare for two decades.In this episode:The AI avatar that called patients after surgery, and why they felt betterWhy an American who’s seen health systems worldwide is still enamoured with the NHSIs the NHS really broken? Compared to what?Why the health systems that digitise best tend to be smallerWhy a knee replacement can follow a different pathway depending on where you liveShould you be able to compare your surgeon’s outcomes?How to regulate AI as a medical device without stopping innovationWhat the NHS could look like by 20300:00 The AI that made patients feel better 0:47 Intro 2:32 Meet Sara Siegel, Deloitte's global healthcare leader 4:20 What consultants actually do, and when to hire one 7:31 From sheet glass in Pennsylvania to UK drug pricing 10:36 Why she fell for the NHS 12:54 Why healthcare still feels ten years behind 16:58 The single patient record: brilliant idea, hard "how" 21:44 Why smaller health systems get digital right 26:53 Ambient voice tech: the AI clinicians love 31:17 The AI avatar calling patients after surgery 34:04 Can regulation keep up with AI? 40:02 Big tech, partnerships and data held captive 43:52 The next three years: "the most exciting time" 45:39 How Deloitte helps health tech startups 47:46 "You did that. You can do this."🎧 Follow HealthTech Hour so you never miss an episode. New conversations bi-weekly with the founders, clinicians, journalists and leaders shaping the future of healthcare. Also live on UK Health Radio.

NHS reform, the future of GPs, primary care, AI in healthcare, GLP-1s, prevention, the single patient record - Dr Charlotte Refsum, former GP and Director of Health Policy at the Tony Blair Institute, on why young people are bypassing the NHS, and what a primary care system built for the AI era looks like.What if the NHS is no longer the only option, and hasn't fully grasped it? Steve Roest sits down with Dr Charlotte Refsum, a former GP who now leads health policy at the Tony Blair Institute. She once practised medicine in a converted bedroom in southeast London with no blood tests and no X-rays on site, where the choice was her, that day, or A&E. Now she works on how the NHS adapts to AI, why NICE backed weight-loss jabs for 3.4 million people while 2.4 million went private online, and how to reach the people prevention keeps missing.In this episode:Why young people are bypassing the NHS for on-demand private care"Primary care is a platform, not a place": the GP's role in the age of AIWhat GLP-1s exposed about how the NHS values and delivers preventionWhy care.data failed, and how to make the single patient record matter to patientsThe "forgotten middle": why midlife is the sweet spot for preventionWhy the Treasury doesn't believe "prevention saves money," and the argument that worksWhy the GP contract isn't built for prevention, and the practical fixes that could change it0:00 From a bedroom GP surgery to predicting illness 1:15 Intro 4:30 From GP to health policy 6:35 Practising medicine in a converted bedroom 8:57 Primary care is a platform, not a place 11:50 A skin check in five seconds 15:47 What GLP-1s exposed about the NHS 19:40 Is the NHS still the only option? 25:49 Why the single patient record matters 30:13 Which country does health data best? 32:52 Why care data failed 34:22 Does prevention really save money? 37:43 The forgotten middle 42:06 Reaching people who never respond 44:37 Prevention without the fear 49:27 Why the GP contract isn't built for prevention 51:12 Practical fixes for primary care🎧 New episodes bi-weekly with the founders, clinicians, journalists and leaders shaping the future of healthcare.

Community pharmacy, pharmacist prescribing, Pharmacy First, NHS medicine shortages, prevention, blood pressure checks — Jay Patel, co-CEO of Day Lewis, on why the pharmacy on your high street is the most underused and underfunded part of UK healthcare.A blood pressure check he almost declined caught the heart disease that would have killed him. Steve Roest sits down with Jay Patel — qualified pharmacist, MBA, Community Pharmacy England board member and co-CEO of one of the UK's largest pharmacy chains — on why community pharmacy is quietly becoming the front line of prevention, and what it could do if the system actually backed it.In this episode:Why a routine pharmacy check saved Jay's life, and what it says about preventionWhy every newly qualified pharmacist in the UK can now prescribeHow pharmacies are paid less for medicines than they cost to buyWhy Pharmacy First is the backbone of what's coming nextHow AI will make pharmacists better, not replace themWhy online pharmacy hasn't killed the high-street modelThe four lessons from building a 250-pharmacy family business0:00 The pharmacy check that saved his life 0:44 Intro 3:10 Welcome & why community pharmacy keeps growing in importance 5:50 Growing up in the back of a pharmacy 11:11 Why pharmacy is a bigger front line than your GP 14:12 The blood pressure check that saved Jay's life 19:13 Pharmacist prescribing and Pharmacy First 24:49 Why AI will make pharmacists better, not replace them 47:45 Why pharmacies lose money on your prescriptions 49:27 The four lessons that shaped him🎧 New episodes bi-weekly with the founders, clinicians, journalists and leaders shaping the future of healthcare.

Children's mental health, prevention vs treatment, resilience, self-esteem, the CAMHS waiting list - Laura Earnshaw, Founder of myHappymind, on why we're solving children's mental health at the wrong end, and what teaching it early actually looks like.What if most children's mental health problems could be prevented years before they ever reach a waiting list? Steve Roest sits down with Laura Earnshaw, former Global Head of Talent at AstraZeneca, now Founder and CEO of myHappymind, the NHS-backed programme in over 2,000 schools. After her own son struggled at school and a family member was sectioned, Laura left her corporate career to build the skills she'd been teaching senior leaders for children as young as three.In this episode:Why children's mental health needs prevention, not just treatmentWhat myHappymind teaches children as young as threeThe 120% vs 20% data proving early intervention worksThe commissioner who wouldn't fund prevention and whyWhy "character, not competence" builds real self-esteemWhy founders should stop publicly blaming the NHSLaura's mottos for getting through the hard days0:00 Why we get children's mental health backwards 0:51 Intro 2:20 From AstraZeneca to founding myHappymind 5:44 The two moments that changed everything 8:04 A million kids waiting: prevention vs treatment 10:34 What you can teach a three-year-old 11:38 Character, not competence: building real self-esteem 15:54 The data - 120% vs 20% on school absence 19:12 The commissioner who wouldn't fund prevention 40:44 Why founders should stop blaming the NHS 42:42 How the NHS came to her first 50:05 "Everything is figureoutable"🎧 New episodes bi-weekly with the founders, clinicians, journalists and leaders shaping the future of healthcare.

NHS data, global healthcare systems, cancer referrals, the single patient record, A&E pressures - Dr Penny Dash, Chair of NHS England, on what the UK gets right, what it gets wrong, and what it could learn from the rest of the world.Is there a healthcare system better than the NHS? Steve Roest sits down with Penny Dash — former hospital doctor, ex-McKinsey European healthcare lead, and now Chair of NHS England - for one of the most wide-ranging conversations the show has had. After more than four decades in the system, she remains a rare voice of optimism: a realist who never sugarcoats, but always sees the potential for things to be better.In this episode:Why there's no clear winner among global healthcare systems, and what the UK still leads onWhy Dr Dash believes India could lead the world in healthcareHow Germany prices surgery like a market to manage waiting listsWhy your GP and hospital records still don't connectThe single patient record debate, and thirty years of the same resistanceWhy "don't come to A&E" is the wrong messageWhy most urgent cancer referrals now find nothing0:00 Is there a better system than the NHS? 0:51 Intro 2:26 Staying optimistic after 45 years in healthcare 5:44 Which countries do healthcare best 9:19 Why India could lead the world in healthcare 11:50 How Germany prices surgery like a market 19:12 Innovation vs adoption: the 17-year lag 27:41 The single patient record debate 42:22 Why your GP and hospital records don't connect 47:48 "Telling people not to come to A&E is our failure" 56:31 Why 9 in 10 cancer referrals find nothing🎧 New episodes every week with the founders, clinicians, journalists and leaders shaping the future of healthcare. Follow HealthTech Hour:

Health data, the single patient record, Palantir, the Federated Data Platform, UK Biobank, synthetic data — Matthew Whitty, former Director of Innovation at NHS England, on who really owns your health data and why the NHS still can't join it up.Matt's career has spanned hospital pharmacy, commissioning, consultancy and national policy, giving him a rare view from the intersection of government, industry, academia and patient care. In this episode, Steve gets into why the data debate is really about trust, and what it'll take to unlock the NHS's most valuable asset safely.We discuss:Why the "privatisation" debate is really about trust and motivation, not sell-offsWho actually owns your health data, and why no single patient record existsThe Federated Data Platform and Palantir controversy, explained without the noiseHow de-identified data gets re-identified, and what really happened with UK BiobankWhy synthetic data and "sandbox" environments could make Britain the number one place to build healthtechWhy the NHS may compare far better to other systems than the headlines suggestThe NHS holds one of the largest single-system health datasets in the worldThe question isn't whether to use it, but how to do it in a way patients actually trust0:00 Who owns your health data? 0:55 Intro 4:00 From hospital pharmacist to NHS England innovation lead 8:45 The public vs private NHS debate 13:19 Who owns your data & the UK Biobank breach 17:24 The Federated Data Platform & Palantir, explained 33:30 Why healthtech gets support no other industry does 43:18 Synthetic data & sandboxes 48:00 Abolishing NHS England & reasons for optimismFollow HealthTech Hour for more conversations with the founders, operators and builders shaping the future of UK health and tech. HealthTech Hour Socials: https://linktr.ee/healthtechhour

NHS waiting lists, funding, staffing, maternity scandals, Alzheimer's drugs, social care — Paul Gallagher, a 20-year veteran of UK health journalism, on whether the NHS is actually broken or just badly managed.In this episode of HealthTech Hour, Steve Roest speaks with veteran health journalist Paul Gallagher about the pressures facing the NHS, including waiting-list backlogs, workforce shortages, delayed hospital discharges, social-care gaps and the political sensitivity surrounding reform.Paul draws on two decades of healthcare reporting to examine why the NHS repeatedly falls into short-term crisis management, how public expectations compare with the amount the UK is willing to spend, and why discussions about restructuring are so often reduced to fears of privatisation.The conversation also explores the role technology can play in moving care from hospitals into communities, improving prevention and making services easier to access. Steve shares how a single SMS offering an at-home health check generated 80% uptake among previously unresponsive patients, illustrating how service design, not patient apathy, can determine engagement.They discuss:Why social-care shortages keep medically fit patients in hospitalHow fragmented care and workforce vacancies create system-wide delaysWhether technology can meaningfully reduce pressure on NHS staffWhy convenience matters for preventative-health participationThe difference between private delivery and charging patientsWhy NHS reform debates often default to comparisons with the USWhat the UK could learn from healthcare systems in Europe and JapanWhether higher taxation could support better public servicesHow politics and the media reinforce short-term decision-making0:00 Is the NHS broken? 0:51 Intro 3:27 The state of the NHS: funding, waiting lists & the bed crisis 9:09 Staffing shortages & the ethics of overseas recruitment 13:03 Why people don't engage with health checks, and how to fix that 18:16 Privatisation, reform & what we're not allowed to debate 26:20 Real stories from the frontline & why change never sticks 32:40 Maternity scandals & accountability failures 38:23 Alzheimer's: causes, breakthroughs & the future of diagnosisPaul Gallagher is a health journalist with more than 20 years of experience, including a decade as health correspondent at the i Paper and work for publications including The Times, The Telegraph and The Mirror. He is also contributing to an Alzheimer’s Disease International report focused on clinical trials.HealthTech Hour features the founders, clinicians, journalists and system leaders changing healthcare in the UK and beyond.Follow HealthTech Hour for more conversations with the founders, operators and builders shaping the future of UK health and tech. HealthTech Hour Socials: https://linktr.ee/healthtechhour

NHS outpatients, agentic AI, the NHS App, EPRs and digitisation - Tom Whicher, CEO of DrDoctor, on why outpatient care as we know it shouldn't exist, and how AI could fix it.DrDoctor has powered nearly 200 million NHS appointments for 37 million patients and delivered over £150 million in NHS savings.In this episode of HealthTech Hour, Tom shares how a naval architecture degree and a chance consultancy project peeling onions for Domino's Pizza led him to co-found DrDoctor in 2012 - and why 13 years later, he believes outpatient care as we know it shouldn't exist.We explore:Why hospital appointments haven't fundamentally changed since the 1600s, how DrDoctor has powered nearly 200 million NHS appointments for 37 million patients, why 40% of outpatient activity could be delivered at home, how agentic AI is now transforming how patients interact with the NHS, why EPRs alone don't deliver the savings the NHS was promised, the shift from digitisation to optimisation in NHS strategy, why every CEO of a software business needs to embrace AI, the paradox of the most-wanted job being a doctor while most doctors want to leave, how UK health tech founders can build lasting relationships with the NHS.Tom also explains how DrDoctor is becoming the agentic operating system for the NHS — integrating deeply with EPRs, powering the NHS App, and building the AI tools that free up clinicians to focus on patient care.Whether you're a healthcare professional, founder, investor, policymaker, or simply interested in the future of healthcare, this conversation offers a rare inside view of what really needs to change to make the NHS fit for the future.00:00 The Future of Healthcare 02:15 From naval architecture to health tech 06:30 The orange form and box of roses story 12:00 Why outpatients shouldn't exist in 2026 16:30 Being thrown out of a CIO's office in 2012 20:00 How DrDoctor powers the NHS App 25:00 The agentic AI tool that changes hospital appointments 29:00 Why EPRs don't save the NHS money 37:30 Why success can make you the enemy in UK health tech 41:00 What every CEO should do about agentic AI 47:30 Learning from the king of milkFollow HealthTech Hour for more conversations with the founders, operators and builders shaping the future of UK health and tech. HealthTech Hour Socials: https://linktr.ee/healthtechhour

The NHS GP shortage, primary care workforce, the 10-Year Health Plan — Julian Titz, CEO of Asterix Health, on solving the 50,000-GP shortfall by embedding UK-registered doctors working from abroad into NHS surgeries.Asterix Health now serves practices with 250,000 patients, has onboarded 150+ doctors, and was the first approved provider under the new NHS rules endorsed by the 10-Year Health Plan.In this episode of HealthTech Hour, Julian shares how a personal diagnosis of a bicuspid aortic valve sparked his journey into healthcare and why he believes preventative care should be far more accessible.We explore:Why the NHS workforce crisis continues to worsen, why thousands of GPs are leaving the profession, how remote UK-qualified doctors can support primary care, the future of global healthcare workforces, why AI won't replace doctors anytime soon, the challenges of building healthtech companies in the UK, the role of prevention in reducing long-term healthcare costs, what the NHS 10-Year Plan means for healthcare innovation.Julian also explains how Asterix Health is helping GP practices manage complex clinical workloads, reduce administrative burden, and improve patient care by reconnecting experienced doctors with the healthcare system.Whether you're a healthcare professional, founder, investor, policymaker, or simply interested in the future of healthcare, this conversation offers a fascinating look at one of the biggest challenges facing health systems today.HealthTech Hour Socials: https://linktr.ee/healthtechhour?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnsN6ssapHy8dRCj9FLlSzwOqM5FOrr1RuqoEsh4BtdTWY_P7jNQ9rObpLyDY_aem_wcar0bSeTXec06ISHGRgHA00:00 The Future of Healthcare 03:36 Julian's heart valve diagnosis and the move into healthcare 07:00 Why workforce is the biggest problem in healthcare 09:31 The 50,000 GP shortage and why doctors are leaving 12:55 The NHS 10-Year Plan endorsement 24:50 Building incentives that align with how the NHS actually works 36:00 Where the UK tech ecosystem wins