Talking HealthTech

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Melvin Chen, CEO and founder of Care GP, about the evolving role of automation and artificial intelligence in primary care administration.
The conversation digs into the very real administrative pressures facing Australian GP clinics today and how Care GP is working to address them in practical, measurable ways.
Melvin walks through the development and growing uptake of Care GP's products, Samantha and Veronica, sharing firsthand insights into how these tools are being received by practices on the ground.
Their discussion also explores broader themes around workforce efficiency, technology adoption, and what it truly means to build technology that fits the way clinics actually work.
The episode further explains why AI-driven admin solutions are becoming an essential part of the future of general practice in Australia.

Key Takeaways
💡 Administrative costs are a significant burden in healthcare, making up to a third of overall spending; automating these processes leads to major efficiency gains.
💡 Care GP’s solutions, particularly Samantha for document processing and Veronica for voice automation, are being rapidly adopted, with customer demand driving product focus.
💡 Clinics have realised direct workforce cost savings—up to $55,000 per year at mid-sized sites—by automating document management tasks.
💡 The conversation highlights that technology is not about replacing staff, but about redeploying people to higher-value tasks and enabling practice growth.
💡 Customisation for medical workflows and continuous user feedback are essential for the successful implementation of AI-based admin tools in healthcare.

Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction & Care GP recap
02:11 - Admin burden in primary care
05:06 - Launch and adoption of Samantha
14:05 - IT budget vs workforce savings
22:41 - Veronica voice agent demonstration
31:07 - What's next for Care GP

Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.
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Mentioned in this episode:
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Dr Catherine Skellern, Dr Nancy Cibotti and Dean Mills about the adoption and impact of Heidi Health technology in clinical and community health settings.
The conversations cover clinician-driven implementation, reducing administrative burden, and transforming the way healthcare professionals engage with patients and families.
The discussion explores how AI documentation tools are reshaping daily clinical workflows, relieving the cognitive load that has long contributed to burnout and attrition across the sector.
From the experiences of a consultant paediatrician to insights from a US-based Chief Medical Information Officer and a community services technology leader, the episode draws on a breadth of perspectives to examine what responsible, effective AI adoption looks like in practice.
This episode was recorded at Heidi Unlocked in Melbourne, Australia and features a selection of conversations Talking HealthTech captured during the event with healthcare professionals, clinicians and technology leaders.

Key Takeaways
🔹 Clinician-led adoption of technology is critical for effective implementation in healthcare settings.
🔹 AI scribes like Heidi can reduce documentation burden and cognitive load for clinicians and social workers.
🔹 Technology enables healthcare providers to focus more on patient interaction and less on paperwork.
🔹 Addressing privacy and risk assessment is essential when implementing AI in healthcare.
🔹 Grassroots demand from users can accelerate the adoption and scaling of new digital tools.

Timestamps
00:00 - Peter Birch: Introduction
00:36 - Dr Catherine Skellern, Child Development Network
06:30 - Dr Nancy Cibotti, Heidi Health
10:27 - Dean Mills, Anglicare Victoria

Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.
If you’re enjoying the show and want access to exclusive healthtech discussions, meetups, and member-only content, you can learn more about becoming a THT+ Solo Member here: talkinghealth.tech/solo_shownotes
And if this episode was useful, leaving a review or sharing it with someone in the industry always helps.
Mentioned in this episode:
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Simon Taylor Cross, Chief Commercial Officer, and Dr Daniel Stiglitz, Director & Co-Founder at Atidia Health.
Together, they explore the realities of perioperative care today, including the challenges created by variability in pre-surgery patient management and what that means for both patient safety and system performance.
The conversation looks closely at how Atidia Health’s Patient Optimiser Platform (POP) uses clinical decision support and AI to identify risk earlier, support more consistent care, and help clinicians make better-informed decisions without disrupting existing workflows.
It also unpacks what it actually takes to implement technology in real hospital settings, from change management and clinician engagement to aligning stakeholders across complex health systems.
Along the way, the episode highlights a broader question facing healthcare today: how can we reduce preventable harm while systems grow more complex and clinicians face increasing pressure?
This discussion offers practical insights into the intersection of clinical practice, digital health, and real-world implementation, highlighting how smarter, evidence-based approaches can support safer and more reliable patient outcomes.

Key Takeaways
🔍 Variability in preoperative care leads to inconsistent patient outcomes, with a significant proportion of complications being preventable
🤝 Embedding clinical expertise with technology and commercial strategy is essential for building effective solutions like POP
⚙️ POP is designed to work within existing healthcare workflows, ensuring support rather than disruption for clinicians and staff
💡 Early identification and intervention using data-driven decision support can prevent adverse events and system inefficiencies
🚀 Effective change management, cross-disciplinary partnerships, and clear return on investment are critical for successful technology adoption in health settings

Timestamps
00:01: Introductions & Atidia Health overview
03:23: Preventable complications in perioperative care
09:57: Example: Patient risk identification with POP
12:29: Integrating technology with clinical workflows
16:35: Role and limits of AI in healthcare
25:43: Large-scale implementation & change management
32:28: Lessons in partnership for healthcare leaders

Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.
If you’re enjoying the show and want access to exclusive healthtech discussions, meetups, and member-only content, you can learn more about becoming a THT+ Solo Member here: talkinghealth.tech/solo_shownotes
And if this episode was useful, leaving a review or sharing it with someone in the industry always helps.
Mentioned in this episode:
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Shelley Thomson, Co-Founder and Director of the Patient Experience Agency and host of the Consumer Health Partnerships podcast.
They explore what genuine consumer engagement looks like in healthcare and digital health, why it is often missing, and how organisations can move beyond basic feedback towards meaningful, ongoing partnerships with patients and consumers.
The conversation unpacks the gap between how healthcare is designed and how it is actually experienced, highlighting how patients move across multiple services and touchpoints while systems often remain siloed.
Peter and Shelley discuss why many digital health solutions still miss the mark by focusing on workflows and technology rather than lived experience, and why honest, open feedback is both essential and difficult to capture in practice.
They also examine the difference between consultative feedback and true collaboration, and why engagement must be continuous rather than treated as a one-off activity.
This episode offers a grounded look at how healthcare organisations can build consumer engagement as a core capability, creating more connected, effective care that better reflects what matters most to the people it serves.

Key Takeaways
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Consumer engagement is about genuine partnership, not just surveys or one-off feedback.
🧭 Building organisational capability is needed—consumer engagement is an ongoing practice, not an add-on.
🌏 Digital health solutions often focus on workflows or tech and miss the lived experience of patients.
🔑 Honest feedback requires safe environments for open conversations with all stakeholders.
🗺️ Patient journey mapping helps identify real issues that sit between services, not just within them.

Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
01:12 - Shelley Thomson’s background & role
02:21 - Defining consumer engagement
04:02 - Why it’s often missing
06:16 - Measuring what “good” engagement is
09:30 - Recruiting the right people
13:12 - Common challenges in engagement
18:05 - How to start: practical strategies
19:59 - Real-world example: dementia journey
22:35 - About Consumer Health Partnerships podcast

Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.
If you’re enjoying the show and want access to exclusive healthtech discussions, meetups, and member-only content, you can learn more about becoming a THT+ Solo Member here: talkinghealth.tech/solo_shownotes.
And if this episode was useful, leaving a review or sharing it with someone in the industry always helps.
Mentioned in this episode:
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Jakomi Mathews, founder and CEO of Goto.health, about the role of technology in improving price transparency, payment workflows, and access to healthcare services for both patients and clinics across Australia
The conversation explores how gaps in pricing visibility and payment processes continue to shape patient behaviour and clinic operations, and why these challenges persist despite broader conversations around health system reform.
The discussion delves into the origin story behind Goto.health and the real-world experiences that highlighted the need for a more transparent and predictable approach to healthcare payments.
It also examines the growing impact of affordability pressures on patients, including delayed care and the risk of bill shock, as well as the operational inefficiencies faced by clinics in managing cancellations, no-shows, and inconsistent cash flow.
Beyond these challenges, the episode looks at how digital payment models inspired by other industries can streamline booking and payment processes across different care settings.
It also considers broader implications for the healthcare ecosystem, drawing on insights from both Australian and international approaches, and highlights emerging innovations that aim to create a more connected, efficient, and patient-centred healthcare experience.

Key Takeaways
🩺 Price transparency and accessibility remain major barriers to healthcare; nearly 50% of Australians delay or cancel care due to affordability
💳 Goto.health uses a model similar to Uber for healthcare payments, guaranteeing clinic payments and reducing cancellations or no-shows
📈 The current healthcare SaaS booking incumbents are still only capturing a small fraction of medical appointments in Australia
🦷 The Australian healthcare landscape has significant cost variance, especially in dental care, driving some patients to seek treatment overseas
🌏 Regulatory trends are pushing for mandated price transparency, both in Australia and in the US, influencing Goto.health’s roadmap

Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction & background
00:47 – Goto.health origin story
02:05 – Clinic workflow challenges
03:18 – Price transparency impact
07:41 – Out-of-pocket healthcare costs
12:02 – Benefits for clinics and patients
15:13 – Goto.health’s product in action
18:07 – Scaling the model & group implementations
21:08 – Payment integrations and industry challenges
23:29 – Roadmap and international expansion
25:45 – Market context and platform growth

Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.
If you’re enjoying the show and want access to exclusive healthtech discussions, meetups, and member-only content, you can learn more about becoming a THT+ Solo Member here: talkinghealth.tech/solo_shownotes.
And if this episode was useful, leaving a review or sharing it with someone in the industry always helps.
Mentioned in this episode:
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.
THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit
Explore the free THT+ Digital Health Career Toolkit, a five-day email series to help you clarify where you fit in digital health and take your next step: talkinghealth.tech/toolkit.