The Healthcare Today Podcast

Our guests this week are Dr. Sheila Bond, Wolters Kluwer’s Director of Clinical Content Strategy; and Christian Cella, Vice President and General Manager of Wolters Kluwer Health's international segment. As we stand at the precipice of a massive information transition - the era of artificial intelligence - the very nature of knowledge is shifting… It's becoming dynamic, fluid, and context-dependent. This raises an urgent question: In a world where AI can generate answers in seconds, how do we ensure that the knowledge we act on is still trustworthy? Joining us are two leaders who are at the heart of this work and - as we discuss AI, knowledge, integrity and how a 100-year-old company like Wolters Kluwer has seen this wave coming - they'll walk us through the risk, the promise, and the practical path forward…

Our guest this week is Dr Lizzie Tuckey, a practicing clinician and the UK Managing Director of Scan.com. The United Kingdom has historically been cautious with scans… GPs often refer to specialists before imaging can be requested, while in some European countries patients can self-book directly. The result is that waiting times in the UK can stretch to six weeks, while others get answers in days.   New NHS reforms such as mandatory Advice & Guidance aims to reduce unnecessary referrals, but some argue they're adding extra steps and delays… Particularly in areas where imaging should come first. Scan.com has pioneered a self-referral model offering scans and reports delivered within seven days. But as Lizzie explains, speed of diagnosis is only half the story; what matters just as much is what happens next. So today, we're exploring the state of UK imaging, the barriers to faster diagnosis, and what a more integrated system could look like…

Our guest today is Steve Roest, CEO and co-founder of PocDoc - a rapidly scaling health technology company working with NHS partners and major pharmacy retailers across the UK. Today, we're talking about the trials and tribulations of scaling a healthtech company inside one of the most complex health systems in the world: the NHS. We’ll be talking about the real mistakes founders make and how preventative care can tackle health inequalities...

Our guests this week are Leon Kobinger and Nicolas Gehring, co-founders of CertHub, a firm that uses AI to help medical device companies navigate regulatory compliance in Europe. For most medtech startups and smaller manufacturers, getting a device approved means facing up to three years of documentation, registration and preparation… That timeline can be a real problem, not just for companies trying to stay afloat, but also for patients waiting for new devices to reach them. CertHub claims AI can cut that process down to weeks, and their platform is being used by device manufacturers and health system procurement teams who want to move faster through Europe's regulatory requirements without skipping the necessary steps. Today, Leon and Nicolas talk about why regulatory compliance is a bottleneck that doesn't get much public discussion and what faster compliance could mean for medical device approval across Europe…

Our guest this week is Cardiff University’s Professor Daniel Gartner, a specialist in operational research and healthcare modelling. Every day, the NHS performs a logistical miracle organising thousands of appointments, emergency calls, surgeries, and discharges. However, anyone who has faced a long waiting list or a cancelled clinic knows the system is under immense strain. We often assume the solution is simply more staff or more money - but what if the NHS is already sitting on a hidden goldmine of untapped data that could predict delays, recover missed appointments, and improve patient outcomes without a single extra doctor? Today, Daniel Gartner will show us how maths - not just medicine - might be the smartest way to save the NHS…

Our guest today is Dr. Antony Rix, founder and CEO of Lucida Medical, an AI-powered prostate cancer diagnostics platform backed in part by Macmillan Cancer Support. In the UK, we diagnose about half of all cancers too late, but we also do hundreds of thousands of biopsies and other tests – and most of these are negative. The problem is that current diagnosis tools can’t always tell aggressive cancer from benign disease with enough certainty. Today, Antony talks about the good and the bad of cancer screening, and how AI could lower patient anxiety if we design it right…

Our guest today is Chris Dexter, partner at law firm Weightmans. Today, with reports of cosmetic procedures taking place everywhere from hotel rooms to garden sheds and even public toilets, we’re talking about the unregulated ‘wild west’ that is the cosmetics sector. As the Women and Equalities Committee calls for an immediate ban on high-risk procedures and warns that further delay is untenable, we will be delving into the legal fallout from this regulatory vacuum and discussing what real reform should look like…

Recorded live at HLTH Europe in Amsterdam, today, we’re asking ‘What if the best time for healthtech founders to plan an exit is before they think they’re even ready?’ Sari Kaganoff is the CEO and founder of Aytza, where she helps healthtech companies navigate new markets, commercialisation, and M&A using expert advisors and proprietary AI. She previously led Rock Health’s consulting practice and spent seven years at McKinsey. In this episode, we’re talking about how to set your company up for a successful exit, and why thinking about M&A as a growth strategy changes everything…

Recorded live at HLTH Europe in Amsterdam, our guest today is Niraj Dalmia, the Head of AI for Healthcare at Deloitte Canada. Niraj brings deep experience across multiple jurisdictions, from the NHS to global health systems, and has been at the forefront of deploying AI not as a bolt-on, but as a core driver of value. Today, we’re talking about real, end-to-end AI transformations that are fundamentally changing how healthcare is delivered, experienced, and paid for. We’ll explore tangible examples, the shift in paradigm, and what it actually takes to make AI work at scale...

Our guest today is Anshumen Bhagat, NHS GP principal and chief medical officer at private healthcare provider GPDQ… With more than 20 years of experience, Dr Bhagat is renowned for his outstanding contributions to the medical field, specifically his dedicated work to reduce NHS waiting lists through the use of digital technology. Today, we’re talking about why mental health is central to successful health systems and how burnout is the silent emergency behind the workforce crisis…

Our guest today is Emily Harrison, the founder and managing director of Nexus HE, a global accredited provider of independent medical education. Today, we’re talking about what traditional medical education models get wrong and why AI-driven, personalised learning will fundamentally redefine the relationship between the clinician and the classroom…

Our guest today is Isobel Egemole, an investment director specialising in healthtech at London VC firm, IW Capital. Femtech serves more than half the global population and its market is growing 60% faster than the rest of healthcare - however, in 2024, it attracted less than one-tenth of digital health funding. Here, Isobel discusses why femtech founders can’t afford to wait for investors to wake up, while revealing how they can pitch their way past the blind spots…

Healthcare professionals participating in this podcast have received honoraria from Astellas Pharma Ltd in recognition of their time and expertise in preparing and delivering this content. The opinions expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the official position of Astellas Pharma Ltd. This podcast is intended for UK healthcare professionals only.   Our guest today is Dr. Katie Barber, Clinical Lead of Community Gynaecology Oxfordshire and Registered British Menopause Society Menopause Specialist. For millions of women, the journey from perimenopause to menopause is marked with confusion, frustration, and a disheartening lack of support. This is not a simple failure of individual doctors, but a systemic flaw, which has created a profound knowledge and access gap. Today, we’re talking about how Women's Health Hubs offer a fix for the system and we’ll explore the practical steps every woman can take to receive the care she deserves…

Our guest today is Ben Pumphrey, a legal director in the governance, funding and corporate team at national law firm Anthony Collins. As data and cybersecurity threats increase, a growing number of high-profile breaches have rocked the health and social care sector, creating significant real-world consequences for both patients and providers. With threats escalating, cost pressures mounting, and new technologies transforming care, today we’ll be talking about how organisations can keep patient data safe and how we should balance innovation with the ironclad duty of confidentiality...

Our guest today is Dr Harvinder Power, a practicing clinician, and the co-founder and CEO of Motics, a healthcare automation platform that provides AI agents for clinical documentation, billing, and patient communication. With its potential to streamline admin, increase capacity and provide a better patient experience, today we’re talking about how artificial intelligence can help private clinics scale without raising their operational cost…

Our guests this week are Paula Bellostas Muguerza, Global Lead of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Kearney, and Elena Bonfiglioli, Global Business Leader for Healthcare, Pharma and Life Sciences at Microsoft. According to the World Economic Forum, women spend 25% more of their lives in ill health than men. Additionally, only 5% of medicines are properly tested for use during pregnancy… As AI becomes part of everyday healthcare, there's a real risk these tools could lock in that inequality for another generation. In this episode, Paula and Elena make a compelling case that the path to closing the women’s health gap doesn’t just run through more funding or policy change - it runs through better data.

Our guest today is Ted Fischer, chief executive of Ageless Innovation, a tech firm aiming to improve the lives of older adults through the power of play. As health systems grapple with ageing populations, staff shortages and rising demand, non-pharmacological ways of wellbeing support are being sought out… This is what led Ted to explore the potential of robotic companion pets. Today, we’re talking about why technology designed to bring joy may have a more serious role in modern care than many assume…

Our guest today is Vanessa Emslie, chief medical officer at women's health and longevity company Willbe. Today, we’re taking a precision medicine approach to perimenopause, talking about the rapid change in the adoption of hormone replacement therapy, shifting clinical barriers and the “revolving door of patient attrition”…

Our guest today is Dr Lauren Struszczak, senior scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation. With obesity costing the NHS an estimated £6.5 billion annually, GLP-1 medications can help people living with obesity. But while these medications can support weight loss, they do not directly address dietary quality, which is fundamental to improving health in both the short and long-term. Today, we’ll be talking about how the rapid rise in the use of GLP-1 marks a shift in the treatment landscape for obesity care and why nutrition is central to supporting patients on weight-loss medications...

Our guest today is Professor Greta Westwood. A registered nurse of over 40 years, Greta has been the chief executive of the Florence Nightingale Foundation since 2019. A passionate proponent of the incredible work done by nurses and midwives across all sectors, Greta believes that, as the NHS looks to expand nurse-led care to reduce waiting times and tackle workforce shortages, nurses and midwives can lead new pathways using new technologies to ensure consistent and timely patient care. Today, we’re talking about the evolving role of nurses and the leadership needed to support them as they take on expanded clinical responsibilities…

Our guest today is Ian Wharton, the founder and CEO of Aide Health, an AI-driven health technology company helping to enable patient self-management… Following a 20-plus year career focussing on design and innovation, Ian places a duty of care on those living with chronic conditions and using Aide’s products to manage their health. Today, Ian makes a compelling argument that the future of healthcare lies not in more appointments, but in supporting the 99% of life that happens between them…

Our guest today is Olivia Burns, an independent healthcare consultant, healthtech entrepreneur, and a long-term NHS patient. As one of the first UK survivors of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Olivia has undergone a total of 21 surgeries including three novel open-heart surgeries at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. This significant lived experience, combined with a desire to innovate, led her into the inaugural intake of the NHS Patient Entrepreneur Programme, where she plays a key role in championing patient involvement in medical innovation and policy development. Olivia is the founder of Hypoplas, a medical design company that reimagines patient care through dignity, sustainability, and practical design. Her star product - a redesigned, patient-centric hospital gown - secured Innovate UK funding, international design rights, and commercial licensing agreements. Today, we’re talking about the development of Hypoplas and how her own experiences led to its creation, while also covering the incredible importance of patient dignity, how it can lead to faster recovery, and how it can often be overlooked...

Our guest today is Darren Kilroy, medical director at RLDatix, a tech and AI firm offering solutions to better improve patient safety outcomes. A former Deputy Medical Director at East Cheshire Trust and Executive Medical Director in Chester, he has a particular interest in exploring the intersection of technology and human-centred care. Today, we’re talking about the currently available tools for job planning, the invisible shift in clinical work, and why consultant time is still being wasted…

Our guest today is Fiona Hazell, the chief executive of Leukaemia UK. Responsible for leading the charity's strategic goals and driving progress for people affected by leukaemia, Fiona is charged with raising awareness of the devastation caused by blood cancers. The fifth most common cancer type in the UK and the third largest cause of cancer deaths, blood cancers are nevertheless consistently overlooked in a system designed around stageable, solid tumours. Today, we’re talking about the government’s new National Cancer Plan, the vital importance of early diagnosis and a hope for real change…