HealthTech Hour

Hosted by Steve Roest

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154

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Jun 2026

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About the show

HealthTech Hour sees Steve Roest, CEO & Founder of PocDoc, speaking to the founders, leaders, clinicians and investors who are driving the HealthTech revolution and are at the forefront of healthcare innovation. Drawing on his extensive network, Steve will give listeners a unique insight into some of the most exciting technologies and most inspiring people from across all aspects of HealthTech.

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June 3, 202651 min

Navigating the US Healthcare System for UK Founders with Demi Radeva, CEO of Across

This week on HealthTech Hour, Steve sits down with Demi Radeva, CEO and co-founder of Across, who is helping UK health tech founders enter and succeed in the United States.With nearly 20 years of experience spanning the world's largest US payer, the London School of Economics, and a teaching role at the University of Minnesota, Demi brings a rare dual perspective - she's lived inside both health systems, studied how they finance themselves, and built and co-founded multiple digital health ventures of her own.Demi is particularly passionate about helping founders follow the money - understanding reimbursement, structuring ROI, and accessing the right buyers across the 1,100 decision-making bodies that shape US healthcare. We get into what that looks like in practice - why UK health tech consistently brings stronger evidence to the table, how to access programmatic spend when no billing code exists, and why making your customer money beats saving them money every time.Outside of work, Demi is shaped by her own immigration journey from Bulgaria to the US, an experience that informs how she thinks about culture, incentives, and what it actually takes to move between two very different systems.A sharp, practical conversation with one of the leading voices helping UK health tech founders take their first serious step into the American market.Follow HealthTech Hour for more conversations with the founders, operators and builders shaping the future of UK health and tech.

May 13, 202657 min

Tackling Health Inequalities with Data and Innovation with Sam Fay, CEO of SISU Health

This week on HealthTech Hour, Steve sits down with Sam Fay, CEO of SISU Health, who is leading the mission to make preventative health more accessible across the UK.With 25 years of experience in strategic transformation and senior leadership, Sam has a strong track record of scaling organisations and delivering measurable impact - and she brings that operator's lens to one of the biggest challenges in healthcare today: shifting the system from treating illness to preventing it.Sam is particularly passionate about using innovation and data to tackle health inequalities and improve outcomes at scale, and we get into what that looks like in practice - what's actually working, where the system gets stuck, and how SISU is building for reach rather than just reach for those who already engage with healthcare.Outside of work, Sam is a keen outdoor adventurer - long walks with her Ridgeback, skiing, and coastal escapes when the diary allows.A practical, grounded conversation with one of the leaders putting preventative health within reach of the people who need it most.Follow HealthTech Hour for more conversations with the founders, operators and builders shaping the future of UK health and tech.

May 13, 202657 min

From the NHS App to Eight-Figure Exit - Rachel Murphy on Building What Lasts

Rachel Murphy launched the NHS App and sold multiple businesses. Now she helps other founders do the same.In this episode of HealthTech Hour, we sit down with Rachel Murphy — founder of The Grafter and one of the UK's most trusted operators when it comes to building real business value. Rachel has grown, scaled and sold multiple companies, including the eight-figure exit of her second business, Difrent. She also led the launch of the NHS App, now with over 30 million downloads and one of the UK's most impactful digital programmes.At the start of 2026, Rachel was recognised on the Ideas Fest New Year Honours List, reflecting not just what she's built, but how she shows up for founders and leaders across the UK.Through The Grafter, Rachel works alongside ambitious business owners who want to build something that stands up commercially, strategically and emotionally — helping founders create clarity, drive sustainable revenue, and build long-term value, whether they're scaling, raising, or preparing for their next chapter.Known for her calm authority, straight talking, and ability to sit with complexity when it matters most, Rachel is the person founders trust when the stakes are high — because she's been there, she's done it, and she doesn't flinch.Follow HealthTech Hour for more conversations with the founders, operators and builders shaping the future of UK health and tech.

May 13, 202656 min

Rewired at the NEC - A Live Panel on the Future of UK Digital Health

This week, HealthTech Hour comes to you live from Digital Health Rewired at the NEC - one of the UK's biggest gatherings of the people building, leading and shaping digital health.Steve is joined at the event by three special guests:Alex Lawrence - Fellow at The Health Foundation, bringing a sharp policy and research lens to the conversations happening across the show floor.Hassan Chaudhury - one of digital health's best-known advisors and connectors, with a knack for cutting through hype and spotting what actually moves the needle.Hayley Grafton - an accomplished digital nurse leader, representing the clinical voice that so often gets left out of the tech conversation.Together, they unpack what's really happening in UK digital health right now: the ideas getting traction at Rewired, the gaps between policy and frontline reality, and where the next wave of impact is most likely to come from.A live, on-the-ground episode you don't want to miss.Follow HealthTech Hour for more conversations with the founders, operators and builders shaping the future of UK health and tech.

March 13, 202657 min

The National Joint Registry is the most impactful health data science project you've never heard of - why and how it's transformed healthcare in the UK

20 years ago, there was a scandal around dodgy hip replacements failing. The NHS had no national register for hip replacements - so Richard Armstrong and others set about building one and that is called the National Joint Registry. Scroll forward to today and it is the leading global database for implants and connecting to outcomes. The data is so comprehensive that Richard and his team are able to predict which implants will deliver the best outcomes and the best long-term ROI for any healthcare system. Richard Armstrong is Director of Registries and RWE at NEC Software Solutions and his passion is data science in health - and the impact of his passion is felt throughout the healthcare service, Richard has worked in healthcare informatics for the past decade, running national programmes associated with the collection and reporting of healthcare data.A key aspect of Richard’s work is designing and managing medical registries which analyse data on medical procedures, devices and outcomes. Richard has a pivotal role in advancing real-world evidence initiatives in healthcare, which can significantly impact treatment decisions and patient safety.

March 4, 202657 min

Why language barriers in the NHS hurt patients - and one woman's mission to solve this problem with Kavita Parmar, founder of Word360

The data is clear - language barriers hurt patients, in any healthcare setting. In some settings, for example acute, maternity and others, these barriers can lead to very serious situations. Kavita Palmer is a clinician by background and Co-Founder of Word360, a multilingual and translation support platform used across the NHS. Her mission is to solve this, at scale - and the problem is vast. Think about all the communication, written, verbal, paper, electronic, across all healthcare pathways.Last year in London alone, they provided 167 different languages to NHS clinicians and patients and have the ability to offer 450+. As Britain's demographics shift, this will become ever more important to solve efficiently.

February 19, 202657 min

Conquering the NHS with the first digital insomnia treatment with Alison Gardiner, CEO of Sleepstation

Sleep struggles? This show could be for you. Alison is one of the most successful NHS entrepreneurs, with her business Sleepstation now working with over 80% of NHS regions and over 80% of all GP surgeries have referred patients into Sleepstation. Sleepstation is a digital alternative to sleeping pills, that embeds human-led CBTi alongside technology to deliver very successful outcomes to insomnia. Alison is an inspirational leader and a brilliant founder and her story will lift you up!

February 5, 202657 min

Sara Roberts, serial HealthTech entrepreneur on what matters and what doesn't in life and business

Sara Roberts is a four-time HealthTech founder, strategic advisor and the founder of Well Purposed, a strategic advisory studio supporting post Series-A HealthTech and longevity companies to scale ethically and sustainably.With over 15 years’ experience operating across the UK, Africa and the Europe, she has built and scaled ventures from early traction to £10m ARR, working closely with founders, investors and executive teams navigating growth, ethics, and operational complexity. Her work is shaped by both lived founder experience and personal motivation. Following the loss of her father to a preventable illness, Sara became focused on building more human, preventative and integrity-led health systems. Through Well Purposed, she advises HealthTech leaders on sustainable growth, leadership resilience and aligning commercial success with long-term outcomes.

January 8, 202656 min

Ep136: Pharmacogenomics - the new frontier in medicine that can save billions for the NHS, with Dr Mark Hudson-Peacock

Dr Mark Hudson-Peacock is a Clinician turned serial entrepreneur, including being a trailblazer in the field of Pharmacogenomics - finding medicines that work better based on your individual genome. Pharmacogenomics was included in the NHS 10 Year Plan as a "big bet" to save the NHS. He is the founder/CEO of Mantara Health Ltd, responsible for launching the first commercially available Pharmacogenomics (PGx) test in the UK.

December 12, 202557 min

Ep135: Doctor turned Entrepreneur, Dr Taz Aldawoud on building the Uber of NHS social care

Dr Taz Aldawoud is a GP, NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellow and founding CEO of Doc Abode, a nationally recognised digital health company enabling the NHS to deliver faster, safer care closer to home. With over 20 years’ clinical experience and an MBA specialising in Strategic Healthcare Management, he combines frontline insight with a strong record in digital transformation.He spent more than a decade as Director of Clinical Innovation at West Yorkshire’s urgent care provider, where he pioneered one of the NHS’s first award-winning telehealth services. Taz is currently Chief Clinical Information Officer for the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and previously served as a Digital Clinical Adviser for NHS England, contributing to national digital policy and innovation.Through Doc Abode, he works with Integrated Care Systems and provider Trusts across the UK to increase workforce capacity, improve responsiveness and enhance patient outcomes through dynamic care coordination and real-time visibility of clinical resources.