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 digital health in Australia during that time, and what healthcare looks like post COVID-19. Click here for full show notes and more information.

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 those on a transaction by transaction basis, we’ve thought long and hard on how to do it in a scalable way. So we are super pumped to launch our new offering to the industry:  Talking HealthTech is no longer just a podcast, it’s where healthtech happens.  What is the big news? Talking HealthTech is now a membership community and online directory of all the technical providers making healthtech solutions, healthcare providers using healthtech solutions, and supporting services who are helping make sure those solutions are created, implemented and utilised in an optimal way. Think, like a “Glassdoor” or a “Trip Advisor”, or a “Compare the Market”, but for healthtech companies, and from the perspective of the Australian healthcare practitioner. We now have a brand new website, still at talkinghealthtech.com, which features the largest, most comprehensive, and engaging, online directory of healthtech providers, solutions and resources who are servicing Australian healthcare practitioners.    Doesn’t the industry already have healthtech directories? Kind of.  I guess we kind of already had healthtech podcasts when I started this show as well...  But I looked for healthtech directories, and I just couldn’t find anything close to what I think we need in this industry today.   Until now, we didn’t have anywhere for all the stakeholders in Australian HealthTech - so the software vendors, device manufacturers, biotech companies, telehealth providers, patient apps, consultants, IT Support companies ALL of these different players - to go to a place, other than those companies own websites, to get an informed view on how those companies stack up against their peers.   Healthtech now has a home. A place to come back to.  A point of reference. Generally, so many of our buying decisions on a day to day now factor in online reviews.  We trust online reviews so much more than messaging than the company's websites.   So the new Talking HealthTech Directory is better than any other online healthtech directory you’ve seen.  It’s way more engaging. But it’s not just about reviews and comparing either - it’s also been created as a lead generation tool for the companies who list themselves on the directory.  So, all of these doctors, physios, nurses, the end users of all these solutions; they are searching this directory looking for the right solution for their practice.  The site has been optimised to make it super easy for those end users to contact their preferred vendor for more information, or “get matched” to the right provider if they don’t know who they are looking for.  When they fill out a get matched form, the lead gets presented to those companies listed under that category. Our website is really nice to navigate too. Stuff is laid out in a logical way, it’s easy to ger around - hopefully you’ll want to stay on there for a bit, explore the content, and find out more about a particular company, or just peruse it and learn somet

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 episode explore the rising use of mobile apps in healthcare, as well as the current trends, safety, regulation and future of digital health.   Listeners of this episode can also score a 10% discount on the Digital Health Guide by using the promo code Kk4ilNs9, valid until the end of June 2020.

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 get some great tips on running your own business in the healthcare arena.  Make sure you check out Clinic Mastery’s free clinic assessment tool mentioned on the show by following this link.

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.

Medtronic is one of the world's largest medical technology companies, but it came from humble beginnings over 70 years ago. Their first life-changing therapy — a wearable, battery-powered cardiac pacemaker — was the foundation for many more Medtronic therapies that use their electrical stimulation expertise to improve the lives of millions of people. Over the years, Medtronic has developed more core technologies, including the first battery-powered pacemaker, a number of implantable mechanical devices, drug and biologic delivery devices, and powered and advanced energy surgical instruments. Today, their technologies are used to treat nearly 70 medical conditions. The concept of meaningful innovation is at the heart of everything that happens at Medtronic.  In this episode, Peter Birch speaks with a few different guests to get the full picture on Medtronic, innovation and the medtech industry.  You’ll learn about the history of Medtronic, how it maintains it's position as a pioneer of medtech, and how it fosters a culture of innovation internally.  You’ll hear about their Eureka Live program and how the company engages with the medtech industry to maintain its reputation as a lead innovator. You will also hear from Dr Buzz Palmer, CEO of the MedTech Actuator, as he reflects  on the challenges and opportunities facing the medtech industry today. First up is Andrew Whiltshire.  He is Senior Director, Market Access, Public Affairs & Policy for both Australia and New Zealand at Medtronic.  He is also sits on the Board of the Medical Technology Association of Australia.  Andrew has been with Medtronic for over 24 years, and he is responsible for Health Economics, Market Access, Policy and Government and Stakeholder Relations at Medtronic, as well as coordinating Government Affairs for the APAC region.   Pete spoke with Andrew first, to get to know a bit more about the background of Medtronic and how they bake innovation into everything they do. Next up Pete spoke with Prajni Sadananda.  Prajni is the Business Development & Corporate Strategy Manager at Medtronic, where her key focus is on investment opportunities and partnerships that can help accelerate business growth. Prajni is also responsible for Medtronic’s Eureka Live program - where they are on the hunt for innovative companies that are keen to scale up and collaborate with Medtronic from across Australia and New Zealand. Check out Prajni’s interview to learn a bit more about the Eureka Live program. Lastly, Pete spoke with Dr Buzz Palmer - one of Australia’s leading and most visible voices in entrepreneurship and MedTech innovation.  He’s the CEO of the MedTech Actuator, founding partner in Dialectica Group, serial entrepreneur and Professor of Entrepreneurship at Monash University. He’s had a lot of entrepreneurial success in medical technologies. He’ mainly focused on the translation of next-generation tech - which is all around creating and leading innovative solutions into new markets.  He has a background in orthopaedic regenerative medicine and microsurgery, So he is well positioned to strategically drive innovative medical technology solutions that provide a significant impact on society.  Listen to Buzz to learn more about the MedTech space more broadly, and understand the opportunities and challenges that face companies playing in that arena today.