Talking HealthTech

Mike Wenger is the Vice President of Patient Engagement at TrialScope, a company out of New Jersey who are unlocking clinical trial data superpowers.   They’re helping to make centralising, structuring and activating clinical trial information simple for use across an organisation at every stage of a study. Mike has made a career within the clinical trial space and helping patient advocacy groups support clinical trial awareness to their online communities. In this episode, hear the story of TrialScope and the work it does regarding clinical trial data.  You will learn about the challenges facing patients, sponsors and recruiters when it comes to clinical trial enrolment and recruitment. You’ll also hear about Mike’s personal story and health scare which motivated him to be where he is now. Full show notes and summary of the episode is available here. For more information about TrialScope check out their listing on the Talking HealthTech directory here.

Ali Besiso is Managing Director of iCIMS, creating technology to solve the problem of producing tailored information systems for clinical teams.  Ali is a passionate Health Informatician who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences and a Master’s in Health Informatics from the University of Sydney. In this episode Ali talks with Pete about Clinical Information Systems, Process Redesign, and User Experience (UX).  He also takes a deep dive into health informatics, and the important work of health informaticians.   Check out the episode and full show notes here, as well as the iCIMS listing on the Talking HealthTech Directory here.

Tim Atkins is the COO of CancerAid, a digital health technology company that builds patient engagement solutions for people with a cancer diagnosis.  In this episode, you will learn about Tim’s unique career pathway that drew him to CancerAid, and his reflections and advice for others who want to enter into a career with a healthtech start up. Tim talks about the process of instigating behavioural change in cancer patients and the importance of patient engagement, as well as the challenges of delivering a hyper personalised healthcare solution at scale using technology.   He also provides his two cents on pitching for fundraising for healthtech startups.   Check out the episode and full show notes here. Visit CancerAid on the Talking HealthTech Directory here to see the latest information, news, events and jobs on offer at the company.

Robert Buehrig is the co-founder and CEO of Cogniom, a company that is empowering organisations to discover new truths through the collection and analysis of data.  Cogniom's TANDM Suite helps bridge the gap of understanding between executives and front line staff, ensuring decisions made create the best possible outcomes for clients, staff and business alike. In this episode, hear about how to best demonstrate your Return on Investment (ROI) as a healthtech start up, and how to engage with different buyers across healthcare.  Robert also shares his experiences and successes regarding raising funding via grants and other means to help kickstart his business. Check out Cogniom’s listing on the Talking HealthTech website here.

Mary Foley is the Managing Director of Telstra Health.   Telstra Health is one of the largest Australian owned health technology companies, and is a subsidiary of Telstra Corporation, which is Australia’s largest telecommunications company.   Prior to joining Telstra Health, Mary was Director General and Secretary of NSW Health for a five-year term. She has also previously held roles as National Health Practice Leader for PwC Australia, Chief Executive of St Vincent’s and Mater Health Sydney, and a senior executive of a major listed Australian healthcare company.    Mary was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for her contribution to public administration in health and education in 2016. She’s received the Centenary Medal from the Federal Government for her business leadership in the private sector, and she is a former Telstra NSW Business Woman of the Year.   In this interview, Mary reflects on her distinguished career in healthcare, and how she became Managing Director of Telstra Health.  You’ll

Bronwyn Le Grice is Founder, CEO and Managing Director of ANDHealth, a national digital health initiative established by commercial and government partners to facilitate and support the development & commercialisation of clinically validated digital health technologies across Australia.  Bronwyn has many years of executive experience in the life sciences sector spanning corporate and business development, transaction management, investor relations and industry advocacy. In this episode learn about ANDHealth and the impact it has on the digital health ecosystem down under.  Hear about insights from their recently released Digital Health landscape report, as well as subsequent insights into the current climate.   Bronwyn also shares some important tips for emerging digital health companies in Australia, as well as a glimpse into what’s to come from ANDHealth this year and next.   Check here for full show notes and more information.

Dr April Armstrong is a rural GP with a passion for business.  She is the CEO of Business For Doctors, a social network and business advisory firm for Australian clinicians to help them run a better business. In addition to that, she owns two medical practices and has won a bunch of awards and invested in various initiatives supporting health care.  She also actively supports medical students and overseas trained doctors during their transition into the Australian medical system. In this interview you will hear the April Armstrong story (a fascinating one filled with babies, farms and private investigators…) as well as the origins of Business For Doctors. April provides insights into the history of Medicare and shares her thoughts on the handling of telehealth billing.  She also covers the joys of providing a healthcare service in rural and regional Australia. More information and full show notes located here.

Dr Karen Price is a clinical GP, and Past Practice Owner. And up until recently she was the Deputy Chair, Victorian Faculty of the RACGP - she stepped down from this role as she is now a Candidate for the RACGP Presidential Elections. Karen is also the Co-Founder and administrator of GPs Down Under (GPDU) - a membership community featuring nearly 8,000 GPs focused on peer learning, peer advocacy, and peer support. In this interview, learn about the rise of social media and its role in clinician support and education.   You’ll hear about Karen’s bid to become the new RACGP President and what she will bring to the role. You will also hear of the impact of telehealth on the Australian GP community, and the benefits of patients taking a more active role in their healthcare. For complete show notes about this interview and many more resources for Australian healthcare providers about technology, check out the Talking HealthTech website.

RACGP President Dr Harry Nespolon has passed away aged 57 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. He died peacefully in his sleep nine months after first being diagnosed. Dr Nespolon was great advocate for General Practice in technology, and supporter of healthtech innovation in Australia. A wonderful clinician and businessman, taken from us way too soon.   When Pete from Talking HealthTech last with Dr Nespolon back in November 2019, the idea that Medicare funded telehealth would be a reality only 5 months later seems almost unthinkable, but it came to fruition thanks to his tireless efforts to instigate meaningful change at a policy level. Harry has paved the way for great developments within primary care for years to come. He will be missed.

With me today is Henrik Molin. He’s the CEO of Physitrack, a patient engagement technology company that he co-founded in 2012.  Physitrack was initially a side hustle for Henrik in parallel to a career in investment management.  He attributes the success he has had in life to the fact he has always had a side hustle.  In fact, he believes everyone should have one! During this interview, learn about the extreme rapid growth that Phystrack saw when COVID hit (200% of one year’s growth in only six weeks?!

Dr Chris Jones, Founder and Director of HosPortal, who are all about better management of healthcare staff by allowing better communication.    Chris is like the double threat of healthtech - a software developer / computer programmer turned doctor, which means that the software solutions we creates directly address the needs of clinicians and solve some genuine problems in healthcare.   In this episode you will hear all about Hosportal and the problems it solves for healthcare professionals and organisations.  You will hear Chris’ story and how he came into his passion for technology for healthcare.     You will also hear about the impact of COVID-19 on the hospital environment in Australia, as well as the adoption of technology within healthcare.    Click here full episode notes.

Rachel de Sain is an internationally regarded digital strategist and thought leader on the future of health and social care delivery in a connected world, with over twenty years of global experience having worked with governments, Fortune 500 companies, and leading academic institutions.   Rachel is a member of the Australia New Zealand leadership forum and was appointed to the newly established World Health Organization's Digital Health panel of experts and has provided keynote presentations on this subject at events around the world. Up until recently, Rachel was the Executive General Manager at the Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA), where she led the creation of Australia's national digital health strategy, the ‘Health Innovation Exchange’ concept, the My Health Record and many others.  In this episode you will learn more about Codesain and what they do for organisations associated with digital health.  You will learn why Rachel left the ADHA and what kind of transformation occurred to innovation and

This is a pretty special episode for us here at Talking HealthTech.  I don’t have with me here today a guest, it’s just me and you for the next little bit. That’s because I got news so noteworthy, I reckon it deserves it’s own episode.  So buckle in, and check it out. Back in December 2018, so not even 2 years ago, this podcast started to fill a need in the Australian healthtech industry - to have more conversations, to promote collaboration for a more efficient healthcare system and a healthier nation. We’ve had a number of guests on the show, ranging from entrepreneurs and startups, leading clinicians, investors, software engineers and decision makers, and even members of the Australian health department.  The positive response to the show has been beyond what I was expecting, and I’m super grateful for that.   So now it’s time to kick it up a notch.  Over the months we’ve had a lot of people ask us to help connect people in the industry, and that’s super rewarding, and we love that.  Rather than doing thos

David Korsunsky is the founder of US based firm Heads Up Health - a mobile app and web portal that integrates health information from a huge number of different sources.  Check this episode out to learn more about Heads Up Health and an emerging new era of the patient / doctor relationship.  Visit here for complete show notes and more information on the topics discussed in this episode.

Rohan Pardasani is the CEO and Founder of Avaana, an online marketplace and community in the well-being, fitness and allied space helping practitioners. Their mission is to be the anchor of a person's entire wellbeing journey, and grow practitioner businesses Avaana are helping practitioners to grow their business, market themselves effectively and fill those dreaded white gaps in their appointment calendars. They are also helping patients address the challenge of getting access to good wellbeing providers, particularly in the current climate of social distancing due to COVID-19. Check out this interview to learn more about Avaana, as well as the challenge patients face finding the right health and wellbeing providers.  Rohan also talks about how they are helping Allied Health Practitioners navigate the complexities of NDIS claiming to help them find new revenue streams during these challenging times.

Kathy Hubble is the founder of a chronic pain management platform called Amelio Health, providing people in pain with instant access to evidence-based care, all through a web portal or an app on a smartphone.   Kathy has a background in nursing, with 20 years in pain management.  During this episode you will learn about what Amelio Health does, and how it’s working towards addressing the problem of chronic health in Australia.   You’ll hear about the importance of engaging all the different stakeholders in the industry in order to deliver better patient outcomes, as well as their rapid growth trajectory fuelled even further by COVID-19.

Rick Rowan is a healthcare entrepreneur, innovator & facilitator.  He is the CEO and Founder of NuroKor Bioelectronics, a UK based medical technology company specialising in non implantable electroceuticals and bioelectrical medicine.It’s basically like a tech version of a pain killer and an anti-inflammatory combined. Rick is internationally recognised thought leader and expert commentator in the health tech space, and his consumer lifestyle medical devices have been featured in Forbes list “The best healthcare gadgets and gizmos of 2018” Rick’s overarching goal is to use NuroKor’s innovative, evidence led, bioelectronic technology to create a positive impact on people’s quality of life on a global scale. In this interview you will learn who is Nurokor, as well as the science of bioelectronics and how it is helping chronic and acute patients without the need for medication.

Can you trust that smartphone app with your health information?   Tim Blake is the Managing Director of Semantic Consulting, who are focused on leading digital change in healthcare.  Tim helps organisations with digital health strategy, and is passionate about enabling engaged patients, activating carers, the use of mobile solutions in health, consumer health technology, precision medicine, consumer genomics, pharmacogenomics and many other components of digital health that are disrupting healthcare in positive and exciting ways. Tim has been on the Talking HealthTech Podcast once before - way back in episode 2, which you should totally go back and check out after this one.   Semantic Consulting are the creators of the Digital Health Guide which is providing high quality information about mobile health apps, including what capabilities they have, what conditions they are for, what evidence exists to support their claims, and reviews and ratings from health providers, patients and more.   In this

Jack O'Brien is an early adopter, business geek, and a health professional.  He is a Director of Clinic Mastery, who have built a thriving community and an invaluable library of resources around helping Australian health professionals thrive, and is also a host of the Grow Your Clinic Podcast, which you should definitely go and subscribe to now by the way. Jack inspires others to live a high performance life that is led by innovation and purpose-driven giving.  He is Owner and Senior Physiotherapist at Terrace Physio Plus in Newcastle, and a devoted husband and father, as well as a lover of coffee, wine and whisky,  In this episode you will learn about how Jack got started with Clinic Mastery, and what makes him tick.  You will hear about what life is like in Allied Health, and some of the similarities and differences compared to GPs and Specialists. You will also learn about some of the popular and emerging tech available to Allied Health Practitioners today to help them run a successful clinic, as well as g

Dan Schulte is the Senior Vice President of Healthcare at HGS Inc, a global business processing outsourcing firm. Dan has decades of experience specialising in healthcare financial management, helping companies of all sizes find vulnerabilities, change processes, and realize immediate returns in bottom-line cash.  In this episode we will explore the complexities of the US healthcare funding model and take a deep dive into revenue cycle management, as well as some of the technology that supports the process.