Talking HealthTech

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Josh Ayscough, Utiliti Group Partner, about investment in healthtech, navigating innovation in healthcare, and the different approaches to scaling health technology businesses in Australia and globally.They explore Josh Ayscough's background, the investment focus at Utiliti Group, and how founders can effectively pitch their healthtech solutions to investors and customers.The conversation also delves into the shift towards consumer-centric healthcare, the practical applications of AI, and the importance of building interdisciplinary teams.Listeners will gain insight into the challenges of funding, regulation, and scaling in the Australian health tech ecosystem, as well as strategies for forming partnerships and driving meaningful impact.This episode offers a comprehensive look at what it takes to innovate and succeed in a complex, evolving industry.Key Takeaways🧑‍💼 Founder-market fit is critical: Investors look for founders who deeply understand the problem they’re solving, ideally with sector experience or a strong advisory board.💸 Demonstrating clear patient or sector benefit is a priority for healthtech investors, not just the commercial proposition.🌏 Australia’s healthtech ecosystem is strong but highly regulated, compared to the “guardrails-off” landscape in markets like the US.🤖 AI isn’t mandatory for healthtech success, but founders need to articulate their position on AI and its relevance for their solution.🔗 Early-stage healthtech solutions should nail a core problem first, then build strategic partnerships to enhance growth, scaling globally is not always necessary, and local impact can also be a meaningful goal.Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.Loving the show? Leave us a review, and share it with someone who might get some value from it. Keen to take your healthtech to the next level? Become a THT+ Member for access to our online community forum, meet ups, special offers and more exclusive content. For more information visit talkinghealthtech.com/thtplus

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Dr Greg McDavitt, physician executive and director of healthcare industry strategy at ServiceNow, and Andrew Dome, Chief Digital Information Officer at Uniting New South Wales Act, about the "hidden tax" on healthcare.The discussion examines the non-financial burdens that affect efficiency and patient care, and how technology can help reduce administrative overhead.It also looks at the emerging role of artificial intelligence in streamlining workflows across healthcare organisations.The episode explores the practical challenges facing care providers and examines how technology can improve outcomes for both staff and patients.Key Takeaways🚀 The "hidden tax" in healthcare refers to the unrecognised administrative tasks that consume clinicians’ and care workers’ time, impacting their ability to focus on direct patient care.📱 Leveraging mobile tools and voice-to-text technology can save valuable minutes per day for frontline staff, enhancing both efficiency and quality of care.🤖 Technology is not always the solution; digitising poor processes can create more friction, but AI and better-designed systems hold the promise of fundamentally changing or removing burdensome workflows.🧑‍💼 A successful tech transition requires buy-in across all levels, from frontline workers to boards, and must be business-driven rather than solely led by IT.🔄 The adoption and role of artificial intelligence in healthcare is evolving rapidly; organisations must continuously review use cases, ethical boundaries, and investment rationale to harness AI effectively and responsibly.Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.Loving the show? Leave us a review, and share it with someone who might get some value from it. Keen to take your healthtech to the next level? Become a THT+ Member for access to our online community forum, meet ups, special offers and more exclusive content. For more information visit talkinghealthtech.com/thtplus

Jason Ward, co-founder and CEO of EQL, discusses the innovative ways digital health is transforming musculoskeletal care. He shares insights into EQL's mission to enhance access through tech-driven solutions, tackling challenges in funding and rural access between Australia and the UK. Jason reveals impressive pilot results showcasing a 14:1 ROI, while also emphasizing the importance of blending human clinicians with technology. Looking ahead, he examines the role of AI in ensuring equitable access to care in underserved communities.

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Mecaela Couper, specialist solution consultant for healthcare, Colby Rook, senior account executive for healthcare, and Dr Greg McDavitt, physician executive and director for healthcare, all from ServiceNow.The discussion covers the role of artificial intelligence and technology in reducing administrative burden for clinicians, improving patient outcomes, and optimising workflows within the healthcare sector.The episode explores the intersection of digital transformation and the unique human elements that are central to effective healthcare delivery, based on insights from both clinical and technology backgrounds.Key Takeaways💡 The critical importance of freeing clinicians from administrative tasks to allow more time for patient care and improving outcomes.🖥️ Effective digital transformation in healthcare is often "invisible" to the patient, improving systems and processes behind the scenes rather than at the point of care.🤝 Co-designing technology solutions with frontline clinicians and gathering feedback ensures tools are genuinely useful and easy to adopt in practice.🔒 Implementing strong governance and risk management around AI tools is vital, including controlling access and monitoring data privacy.🔄 Transformation efforts should be holistic, considering impacts across the whole healthcare ecosystem, from frontline staff to back-office operations and the broader continuum of care.Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.Loving the show? Leave us a review, and share it with someone who might get some value from it. Keen to take your healthtech to the next level? Become a THT+ Member for access to our online community forum, meet ups, special offers and more exclusive content. For more information visit talkinghealthtech.com/thtplus

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Dr Ramya Raman, Rafiah Ansari, Andrew Aho, and Farhoud Salimi about the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in digital health.Topics covered include clinical governance, digital health ethics, women’s health data, interoperability, AI, connected care, and the importance of partnerships across healthcare and technology.This episode was recorded during HIC 2025, hosted by the Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH) in Melbourne.It features conversations captured in the Digital Health Studio throughout the event, covering panels, keynotes, and interview sessions with innovators and leaders from across the healthcare technology space.Key Takeaways✨ Clinical governance, ethics, and research translation are critical for driving sustainable digital health innovation🌏 Global perspectives (UK, Canada, US) offer lessons for local implementations in Australia🧑‍⚕️ Women’s health data has historical biases; femtech and digital health can help address gaps for diverse populations🔗 Connected care depends on interoperability, collaboration, and data standards to support clinicians and improve patient outcomes🤖 Artificial intelligence and unified data platforms are expanding capabilities but require strong privacy, governance, and clinician involvementCheck out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.Loving the show? Leave us a review, and share it with someone who might get some value from it.Keen to take your healthtech to the next level? Become a THT+ Member for access to our online community forum, meet-ups, special offers and more exclusive content. For more information, visit talkinghealthtech.com/thtplus

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Steve Lewis, founder of Nabu, about his personal journey into health tech, the creation of Nabu, and the challenges of coordinating complex healthcare for patients with special needs.Steve shares how his own experiences caring for his daughter Bowie inspired him to develop tools that help patients, families, and support workers better manage the demands of the healthcare system.They cover the realities of patient navigation, the role of digital tools in improving outcomes, and the importance of human collaboration alongside technology.Key Takeaways🧩 Lived experience shapes innovation: Steve’s journey as a parent navigating paediatric and intensive care environments drove the creation of Nabu, aiming to bridge gaps he faced first-hand in the healthcare system.📲 Practical patient empowerment: Nabu focuses on helping patients and families easily coordinate appointments, medications, and care plans without overwhelming them or relying solely on electronic health records.🔄 Communication and collaboration matter: The app streamlines sharing critical information with family members, support workers, and professionals, reducing the risks of missed details and improving overall continuity of care.🛡️ Safety in support: Features verifying support worker credentials and making handovers simpler are emphasised to mitigate risks for vulnerable patients.🌏 Piloting for impact: The next steps for Nabu involves coordinated pilot programs with providers in Australia and overseas, to quantify its effect on health outcomes and demonstrate support for patients, families, and clinicians.Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.Loving the show? Leave us a review, and share it with someone who might get some value from it. Keen to take your healthtech to the next level? Become a THT+ Member for access to our online community forum, meet ups, special offers and more exclusive content. For more information visit talkinghealthtech.com/thtplus

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Charles Papp (Founder and CEO, KRE8 IT and KRE8 My Health) and Steven Whittington (allied health consultant and co-founder, KRE8 My Health) about interoperability in healthcare.The discussion covers the challenges of connecting fragmented health data, the role of FHIR standards, their journey forming KRE8 My Health, and practical examples of how better data exchange can improve outcomes for clinicians and patients. The episode explores recent developments such as Smart Health Link and Australian Patient Summary standards, as well as how managed services can bridge the gap between legacy systems and modern interoperability requirements.Key Takeaways🩺 Interoperability remains a major challenge in healthcare, with legacy systems and inconsistent data standards making it difficult to exchange information effectively.🖥️ FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) and new standards like Smart Health Link are helping enable secure, standardised sharing of patient summaries and health data between systems and individuals.🔗 Managed interoperability services can allow software vendors and startups to achieve compliance and connectivity without becoming experts in complex health data standards.👩‍⚕️ Improved interoperability empowers both clinicians and patients to access and share medical information, boosting health literacy and supporting safer, more timely care.📱 Tools like Smart Health Exchange allow sharing of health records via encrypted links or QR codes, making data accessible even for those without advanced IT systems.Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.Loving the show? Leave us a review, and share it with someone who might get some value from it. Keen to take your healthtech to the next level? Become a THT+ Member for access to our online community forum, meet ups, special offers and more exclusive content. For more information visit talkinghealthtech.com/thtplus

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Dr Simon Kos, Chief Clinical Officer for ANZ at Microsoft; Georgia James, Director for VicKey Statewide CRM at Austin Health; and Alan Pritchard, Director of EMR and ICT Services at Austin Health.The conversation covers the development and rollout of a statewide Microsoft Dynamics-based CRM for health services in Victoria, with a focus on digital referral management, patient communication, automation, and the use of AI in improving health system processes and outcomes.Key Takeaways🏥 The Victorian Statewide CRM project, based on Microsoft Dynamics, began as a solution to surgical audit and patient communication challenges at Austin Health. It has since expanded, now supporting referral management and inter-hospital transfer processes across metropolitan and regional health services in Victoria.📋 Managing healthcare referrals is typically a complex, paper-driven and inefficient process. The new digital referral management system standardises and digitises this workflow, improving efficiency, reducing environmental impact, and ensuring timely patient care.🤝 The importance of co-design and collaboration between health services, IT teams, and clinicians was highlighted. Rollouts involved extensive workshops and change management, with an emphasis on capturing the "80%" common process across services while allowing flexibility for local variation.🤖 AI is being explored to support and augment referral processes, such as classifying incoming documents, summarising referral content, and identifying hidden health issues within referrals. The approach ensures clinical oversight and gradual adoption for trust and safety.🔗 The system is designed to promote federated innovation—allowing a collaborative framework where new features can be rolled out at scale and shared across services, rather than every service building in isolation.📊 Leveraging enterprise data and digitising previously manual or paper-based MVPs (like post-it note reminders or spreadsheets) enables ongoing process improvement and scalable healthcare innovation.⚖️ Equity considerations were also discussed: digital solutions need to be accessible, especially for vulnerable populations, to avoid widening the digital divide in healthcare.Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.Loving the show? Leave us a review, and share it with someone who might get some value from it. Keen to take your healthtech to the next level? Become a THT+ Member for access to our online community forum, meet ups, special offers and more exclusive content. For more information visit talkinghealthtech.com/thtplus

Declan Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Eolas Medical, discusses the pressing need for effective knowledge management in healthcare. He emphasizes the dual necessity of accessing both external evidence-based guidelines and internal hospital-specific information. The conversation dives into how AI and computer vision facilitate instant access to vital data, enhancing clinical decision-making. Declan also highlights challenges like balancing usability against governance and the importance of visual grounding to ensure trust in AI-generated healthcare information.

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, host Peter Birch speaks with Claire Holt, Technical Health Information Manager at Austin Health, about the role of data management and digital health transformation in tertiary hospitals. The discussion focuses on the integration of new data capture solutions within Austin Health, with a special emphasis on the challenges and opportunities surrounding legacy systems, workflow transformation, stakeholder engagement, and mandatory reporting.This episode was recorded live at HIC 2025 in Melbourne, Australia, at the Data Capture Experts booth on the expo floor.Key Takeaways:🏥 Austin Health's Digital Landscape: With over 200 clinical systems, Austin Health's approach to technology must consider integration, interoperability, and minimising workflow disruption for clinicians.🔗 The Role of Health Information Managers: Health information managers bridge the gap between IT, clinical operations, and data reporting, ensuring legislative compliance and meaningful use of collected data.⚙️ Addressing Legacy System Challenges: Facing an end-of-life legacy software system that processed over 120,000 annual client contacts, Austin Health identified the need for a modern solution that could expand functionality and support broader use cases.🚀 Implementation and Change Management: Accelerated timelines and the addition of new modules – such as community mental health – required robust collaboration, business process engagement, and agile change management strategies.💻 Data Capture Experts Solution: Streamlined administrative functions allowed for improved referral, appointment booking, care management, and reporting – moving away from siloed spreadsheets towards integrated workflows.📊 Workflow Evolution: The new system enabled better visibility across teams, accurate activity reporting, and improved patient care continuity, especially for patients accessing multiple services.🤝 Advice for Vendors: Collaborative approaches with health information managers and strong technical-business translation are essential when building and implementing solutions in health settings.Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.Loving the show? Leave us a review, and share it with someone who might get some value from it. Keen to take your healthtech to the next level? Become a THT+ Member for access to our online community forum, meet ups, special offers and more exclusive content. For more information visit talkinghealthtech.com/thtplus