Steve Roest
HealthTech Hour
HealthTech Hour is a leading healthtech podcast exploring the people and technologies transforming healthcare. Each episode features conversations with healthtech founders, healthcare leaders, clinicians, investors and innovators building the future of digital health, AI, diagnostics, medtech and healthcare innovation. Whether you're a founder, investor, healthcare professional or simply passionate about health technology, HealthTech Hour brings insights from the people shaping the future of healthcare. 🌍 Listeners in over 50 countries. 🎙 New episode bi-weekly. 🗣 Hosted by Steve Roest.
Where to listen?
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Episodes
Why Outpatients Should End | Tom Whicher, CEO of DrDoctor 07.07.2026 51:16
The NHS has invested billions in digital records - but what if the real breakthrough isn't more software, it's what sits on top? 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...
How Remote GPs Could Save the NHS | Julian Titz, CEO of Asterix Health 24.06.2026 53:17
The NHS needs thousands more GPs - but what if the solution isn't training more doctors, but reconnecting qualified clinicians already outside the workforce? 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 c...
Navigating the US Healthcare System for UK Founders with Demi Radeva, CEO of Across 03.06.2026 51:22
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...
Tackling Health Inequalities with Data and Innovation with Sam Fay, CEO of SISU Health 13.05.2026 57:45
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 challen...
From the NHS App to Eight-Figure Exit - Rachel Murphy on Building What Lasts 13.05.2026 57:36
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, D...
Rewired at the NEC - A Live Panel on the Future of UK Digital Health 13.05.2026 56:26
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 - o...
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 13.03.2026 57:54
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 t...
Why language barriers in the NHS hurt patients - and one woman's mission to solve this problem with Kavita Parmar, founder of Word360 04.03.2026 57:27
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. Thin...
Conquering the NHS with the first digital insomnia treatment with Alison Gardiner, CEO of Sleepstation 19.02.2026 57:30
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...
Sara Roberts, serial HealthTech entrepreneur on what matters and what doesn't in life and business 05.02.2026 57:22
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,...
Ep136: Pharmacogenomics - the new frontier in medicine that can save billions for the NHS, with Dr Mark Hudson-Peacock 08.01.2026 56:40
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 Pharmacogen...
Ep135: Doctor turned Entrepreneur, Dr Taz Aldawoud on building the Uber of NHS social care 12.12.2025 57:45
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 d...
Ep134: Making the UK Healthy Again - turning prevention into a centre of economic growth with James Bethell 28.11.2025 56:08
In this episode, Steve Roest, CEO of PocDoc speaks to Lord (James) Bethell. Lord Bethell is an entrepreneur, former health minister and champion for public health. He has a twenty-year track record working across government, media and industry, working at The Sunday Times, the US Senate, and the EU Commission. He has built and sold communications companies and helped make the Ministry of Sound a g...
Ep133: What is Genomics and why we should care that it's done ethically with Dr Natalie Banner is Chief Ethics and Engagement Officer at Genomics England 02.11.2025 57:41
On today's show, Steve Roest, CEO of PocDoc speaks to Dr Natalie Banner is Chief Ethics and Engagement Officer at Genomics England, an organisation owned by the UK Government to provide the evidence and digital systems to drive advances in genomic research and medicine, and to support the implementation of genomics in healthcare. Genomics is being hailed as one of the big developments that will us...
Ep132: Can a diagnostic tampon eradicate cervical cancer? Valentina, founder of Daye, believes it can. 10.10.2025 58:05
Valentina Milanova is the founder and CEO of Daye, a gynae health research and development company seeking to close the gender health gap with proprietary medical and diagnostic devices aimed at common, yet under-served gynae health conditions, ranging from period and pelvic pain to cervical cancer prevention. Valentina is a huge advocate for women's health and this show goes into detail on the ch...
Ep131: MMA and Jujitsu legend Igor Araújo on the power of faith, love and hard work - beating all the odds to get your dream 30.09.2025 54:44
Very special show this week - Steve Roest's guest is Igor Araújo, a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who has an incredible story of pursuing his dream of fighting at the highest level, against all odds. A professional competitor since 2004, Igor has competed for the UFC, M-1 Global, Shooto, KSW, and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter. He has won the European Jujitsu Championships...
Ep130: Pelvic Floor Health is a critical problem for the healthcare system and women everywhere - Wendy Powell, founder of the MUTU System 12.09.2025 56:43
Wendy Powell never accepted that incontinence, back pain, diastasis and intimacy problems were "just part of being a woman". She used her physio background to embark on a mission to fight for the importance of evidence based solutions for Pelvic Floor health in women. In this episiode, Steve Roest and Wendy go into detail on why Pelvic Floor health isn't a minor issue, it affects billions of women...
Ep129: Solving the Dementia ticking time bomb - the reality of the startup journey from UN Ambassador to burnout and back again 29.08.2025 57:12
Devika Wood, Steve Roest's guest on this show, is the CEO of Brain+, a pioneering health technology company transforming dementia care through its digital platform, Ayla. Devika is also one of the most inspirational people in European HealthTech. Over the past 13+ years, she has worked across startups and multinationals, from Google and Babylon to founding Vida, which exited in 2019, and leading d...
Ep128: Dan Vahdat, founder of HealthTech unicorn Huma on solving hard problems and the value of naivety 27.08.2025 54:49
Dan Vahdat is the founder and CEO of Huma, a healthcare AI company valued at over $1 billion, dedicated to accelerating the adoption of digital solutions in healthcare and research. In this episode he speaks to Steve Roest, founder and CEO of PocDoc on his journey to creating Huma, his philosophies on growing complex companies in complex industries and on why he split Huma into units with their ow...
Ep127: Using AI to diagnose cancer better and faster with Giles Tully, NHS Cancer AI pioneer and CEO of Pinpoint Data Science 30.07.2025 58:38
Giles Tully is CEO of PinPoint Data Science, the company behind the ‘PinPoint Test’, a completely unique AI-driven test that can diagnose 9 of the top 14 most common cancers faster, better and more affordably than the current NHS process. Giles lost his mother at 16 and has used that event to fuel his career which includes going to China with no Mandarin, learning the language and ending up produc...
Ep126: Pam Garside, advisor to governments, investors and founders, leading angel investor in HealthTech 19.07.2025 57:58
Pam Garside is one of the most well respected, well connected people in the UK and European healthcare industry. She is an advisor to the NHS, venture capital investors and the UK government. She is also a leading angel investor, having supported generations of entrepreneurs on their journey. Pam Garside has had a career in health care systems and digital health in the UK and internationally and i...
Ep125: Curbing substance addiction with technology with Dr David McLaughlan, global addiction expert at the Priory and the CEO and Founder of Curb Health 02.07.2025 48:35
It's summer, the sun is shining and temptation is high. How many of us are consuming more than we want to, of alcohol or other substances? How many of us want to either reduce or stop, but can't? How can technology play a role? That's where Dr David McLaughan comes in, with his digital app and community, Curb. Many of us want to reduce our consumption of harmful substances, but can't. Some of us w...
Ep124: Innovation is the NHS’ only option to thrive and also to survive - Richard Stubbs, NHS Innovation Leader 30.06.2025 58:45
The timing for this show is perfect with the upcoming NHS 10 Year Plan being announced imminently. The “NHS is slow to adopt technology” but “the UK has great innovative tech” debate has raged for years. Our guest today Richard Stubbs, the Chief Executive of Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber is a veteran of this back and forth and the perfect guest. Richard and his team work alongside the N...
Ep123: Health businesses always forget about branding - it's as critical as clinical evidence, with Sharlene Lopez, Healthcare branding expert 18.06.2025 51:51
In this episode Steve Roest, CEO of PocDoc, speaks to Sharlene Lopez, a healthcare branding expert on how important branding really is in Health - especially given the clinical evidence, regulatory pressures and complexities in clinician and patient care. Does branding really matter? Sharlene Lopez is an award-winning brand and growth strategist with 30 years of experience across healthcare, spann...
Ep122: Why pharmacies are so much better than you think, with Richard Harrison, Asda's Health Service Manager 18.06.2025 58:28
This episode exposes why we should all care more about our pharmacies in the UK and pulls the curtain back on how reliant we are on the work they do. It is a follow up to the show with Nick Kaye earlier in the year around the crisis in funding for the industry and risks to patients. Steve Roest, CEO of PocDoc speaks to Richard Harrison, a 25 year veteran of Community Pharmacy and huge advocate for...
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