#251 - One does not simply 'digitise healthcare'
The one-minute healthtech roundup, brought to you by SomX.
Hey friends,
This week: Tandem picks up €42.6 million, Microsoft’s claims their AI is an overachiever, but there’s one story that’s been living rent-free in Pigeon’s head - the NHS 10 year plan is finally here… so lets get into it.
Your friends all listen to podcasts. Feel like you’re in on the conversation by listening to the Healthtech Pigeon podcast ➡️ SomX’s Jessica Somauroo and Huw Penson dive into the week’s’ healthtech stories (ok fine, it was just the one this week - sorry global listeners. Back with usual programming next week) with help from Together Digital’s Liam Cahill and The Health Foundation’s Malte Gerhold. Available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
And if you needed more on the NHS 10 Year Plan, since everyone on LinkedIn seemed to be waiting for Liam’s summary of hot takes, James convinced him to bring it to The Healthtech Podcast’s First Look 👇🏼
News Bites 🥪
📖 NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future – A 12-hour delay didn’t help Pigeon’s stress levels, but the plan to end all plans is finally here. Covering everything from shifting care to a community-led approach to a strong push for preventative healthcare models, we felt we needed backup to support our analysis (or at least, people who’d read it in depth). Liam Cahill and Malte Gerhold jump in to share their thoughts on this week's podcast. Pigeon might have stopped banging on about it by next week’s edition… or will it?!
👂 Swedish startup Tandem Health secures €42.6 million to reduce admin burden on clinicians – Just because it’s 10 year plan week, it doesn’t mean there isn’t other news, and clinical scribe tech Tandem’s continues their run of good news with a massive raise.
🔎AI tool that is ‘more accurate’ than doctors to ‘reshape’ healthcare – Microsoft claims its new AI, MAI-DxO, can diagnose complex medical cases with four times the accuracy of veteran doctors. In a test of 304 cases, the AI hit 85% accuracy, while 21 seasoned clinicians averaged just under 20%. The study hasn’t been peer-reviewed (yet), but it also claims the tool could cut diagnostic costs by 20%. Of course Microsoft insists it's here to help doctors, not replace them.
🤝 AI tool will launch on NHS App to help tackle health inequalities – The NHS App is getting a makeover and the newest addition to the roster? A new AI tool called My Companion designed to support patients in asking questions and expressing their health needs confidently, even the ones they might forget or feel awkward asking in person. The tool aims to give patients direct access to trusted health information with the goal of patients having more control over their health and make care more accessible.
👀Belfast femtech startup Joii brings medical-grade period tracking to the masses – Pigeon loves a world first story: Joii has combined a smart pad with an AI-powered app to create a period tracker that delivers real-time, clinically validated insights. It helps users understand symptoms, spot abnormalities, and have more informed conversations with their doctors. Backed by research and already improving menstrual health literacy and GP communication, Joii is turning period tracking from guesswork into real healthcare data.
🇺🇸 Is RFK Jr's divisive plan to Make America Healthy Again fearmongering - or revolutionary? – Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has seemingly taken over U.S. public health with an iron fist. He’s axed thousands of jobs, gutted the CDC, and declared artificial additives the enemy. It’s safe to say he’s shaking things up, one banned snack and controversial statement at a time
🙅♀️ Why new tech alone doesn't result in equitable health care – Experts (and Pigeon) are politely begging us to stop dropping shiny, broken medical gadgets into underserved communities without a plan for how to use or fix them. A concerning 97% of donated equipment ends up in the hospital graveyard of unusable tech. Maybe instead, we ask what’s actually needed and train people to maintain it so it doesn’t go to waste. Just a thought...
What to listen to 🔊
Events 📅
FEATURED: The Glastonbury of Healthtech is coming to Oxfordshire! Join us at THE FIX! - September 18th, 2025, Harwell Science Campus
Tickets are flying off the shelves (shelves are a metaphor, but the sales are real) for this healthtech festival like no other. WIth a bunch of new partners onboard, and a host of existing sessions planned (we’re trying to work out what an NHS reverse pitch is!) and a former government health minister on DJ duties (don’t worry, he’s got the chops), it’s probably not one to miss. Use the code SOMX15 for 15% off your ticket price.
HealthTech Connect: Networking for Health Startups, Investors, Innovators
⏰July 7
📍 London
BMJ Future Health Summer Social
⏰July 9
📍 London
HIMSS AI in Healthcare Forum
⏰ July 10-11
📍 New York
Digital Technology and AI — The Future for Pharmacy & Medicines Usage
⏰ July 10
📍 London
Bridging the Digital Literacy Gap: Equipping Clinicians with the Future Skills They Need.
⏰ July 25
📍 Online
Visit the SomX events page or subscribe to SomX’s events roundup to see all of the best upcoming healthtech, biotech and healthcare events.
Opportunities 🕵️♀️
👷 Software Engineer (Fullstack - Growth), Heidi Health – Does owning the end-to-end development of high-impact features sound like your kind of fun? In this role, you’ll collaborate with world-class engineers and team up with product, design, and AI to turn ideas into real customer value. If that doesn’t sound like a good time, we don’t know what does!
🩺 Consultant Endocrinologist, Oviva – While Pigeon struggles to even pronounce Endocrinologist, it does sound like a pretty cool role! You get to deliver life-changing care, develop personalised treatments and share your expert insights to enhance Onvia’s weight management services. Apple today!
🧑💻 Lead Product Manager, ZOE – Do you want to be responsible for building features that improve the user journey? Can you Lead the end-to-end product development lifecycle? Are you ready for your next big opportunity? You know what to do!
📚 Medical Affairs and Regulatory Adviser, Numan – Contrary to popular belief, regulation can be sexy. In this role, you’ll be a key player on Numan’s Legal, Data, Governance, and Regulatory team, making sure the company stays compliant while pushing commercial goals forward. So what are you waiting for? That application won’t write itself.
Got news, jobs or events you think is worth coo-ing over? Let us know! Email us: news@healthtechpigeon.com
Healthtech Pigeon is curated and produced by SomX, the communications and creative agency for healthcare. We are clinicians, scientists, creatives and communicators dedicated to serving our healthtech, biotech, pharma and public sector clients with services across strategy, content, PR, design, events and media production. Get in touch to learn more.