The Healthtech Podcast From the 16th Century to AI, with Dr David Neal
Apr 1, 2026
Dr David Neal, assistant professor and co-lead of the eHealth Living & Learning Lab, blends human factors engineering with clinical implementation. He traces medicine’s ritual roots and the psychology missing from design. They discuss AI planning in cardiology, why adoption—not just efficacy—breaks healthtech, and practical ways hospitals can test and scale digital tools.
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Healthcare Still Follows A 16th Century Healing Ritual
- Modern clinical encounters mirror a 16th century healing ritual of status, attention, physical contact, diagnosis, and treatment.
- David Neal noticed this while reading history and during GP placements, revealing neglected research on relational care mechanisms.
We're About 150 Years Behind Studying Human Roles In Care
- Medicine has neglected rigorous study of human relational effects like the placebo and therapeutic relationship.
- Neal argues we are ~150 years behind in scientifically analysing human roles because patentable drugs drew funding away from relational research.
AI Turns Relational Care Into Productizable Components
- Generative AI makes relational components of care ownable as products, changing funding incentives toward studying and reproducing therapeutic mechanisms.
- Neal warns we must first identify which relational ingredients (attention, touch, wording) are core to replicate in AI agents.
