Shows
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthDigital innovation in humanitarian settingsHow do global organizations built to respond and aid in conflict respond to digital transformation? The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) : you’re probably familiar with the work that happens here : emergencies, conflict zones, disasters, working at the last mile in difficult circumstances. How does an organization like even begin to approach “tech innovation” There’s clearly lots of need.What do you prioritize when everyone needs improvements now? PLUS How do you adapt off the shelf LLM models for remote humanitarian contexts?Javier...
2026-02-1759 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthUSAID cuts, women's health and leading the right wayAt the end of last year I got the chance to record the first episode of the show in an actual studio. Still a lot to learn about this versus virtually, but Patty Mecheal was a gracious and very awesome guest. Patty, CEO of healthenabled brings nearly three decades of mHealth and digital health experience into this discussion we recorded during the Global Digital Health Forum in Nairobi in December 2025. After a tumultuous year of policy shifts with USAID funding, WHO shifts and the cascading challenges globally, our conversation examines how we go...
2026-01-281h 07
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthWhy displaced people need a digital identitiyI sat down to talk to Nadia Kadhim, co-founder of Naq about digital identity and healthcare for displaced people. Nadia’s father was a refugee, and we hear about her journey into human rights law and eventually into data security and compliance. We cover:That digital identity for displaced people is messed up. How this creates very real barriers to care (with examples)How healthcare systems aren’t set up for real access or meaningful care for refugeesCan we even do anything about this when political agenda in many...
2026-01-1450 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthEvaluation level up : Measuring what matters🎯 Evaluation! A make or break thing in the digital health. I sat down with Dr Shay Soremekun from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine to talk about the very hot topic of evidence generation and evaluation. Everyone's talking about LLM evals, technical performance, benchmarking. But ultimately people care about impact. Yet impact is rarely a neat, linear path to a yes/no answer. Anyone who's actually implemented something in the field knows about all the other contributing factors, the daily challenges and how hard it is to move the needle on big clinic...
2025-11-0549 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthSocial impact in a time of scarcity, and the power of community🚨 Nick Martin, social impact titan, one of the biggest voices out there in this space with a huge following and community, helping connect people to jobs, funding and much more. Founder and CEO of TechChange, working with funders, government and tech, and giving people the skills they need to create real impact. We’ve talked a lot about the impacts of the USAID funding cuts on this podcast. Nick, who has worked shares his view on the impact on grantees, humans and more. We cover:How do we deal with this ne...
2025-10-0743 min
Medical PortraitsFrom GP to Global Digital Health – Shubs Upadhyay #26From rural medicine to global digital health: Dr. Shubs Upadhyay on Ada Health, remote care in Australia, and the future of healthcare innovation.
Dr. Shubs Upadhyay is a GP, digital health expert, and host of the GPODH – Global Perpectives on Digital Health podcast. His journey has taken him from clinical practice in Australia – including working with the Flying Doctors – to global health, consulting, and leading roles at Ada Health, where he served as Director of Medical Quality and later as Medical Director, shaping the impact of digital symptom assessment on a global scale.
In this episod...
2025-09-2744 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthDigital health innovation with refugees. A founder's story.As underserved communities go, refugees are up there as the most vulnerable. We already have systemic and deep challenges for physical health services not being designed for displaced people, and has we rush to bolt on digital and LLMs to everything, are we stopping and thinking about the key needs of these communities?And a word on innovation in humanitarian settings. This is not a problem that investors go for with attractive returns, or something you can meet the market where it is at. Rather, its down to governments and philanthropy to help invest in...
2025-09-0951 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthEvolving beyond verticals and funding what matters in healthcare🔍 I speak with Rubayat Khan, a systems thinker, entrepreneur, and now investor at the Endless Foundation, where he is helping reimagine how global health innovation is funded and delivered.We unpack what it means to move beyond vertical health solutions, how to prioritize innovation in an era of shrinking aid budgets, and how large language models (LLMs) might be the missing piece in unlocking integrated, people-centered care especially in low-resource settings. We also talk about the challenges, risks, pitfalls and how to think about the right counterfactuals for the context when we evaluate LLMs in healthcare.R...
2025-07-291h 02
Talking HealthTech540 - HLTH Europe 2025 Feature Episode: Leveraging Technology for Community and Home-Based CareIn this episode of Talking HealthTech, host Peter Birch speaks with healthcare leaders and innovators, including Auður Gudmundsdottir from Reykjavik City, Paula Bellostas Muguerza from Kearney, and fellow podcast host Shubs, along with Sophie Turner as co-host. The episode explores the digital transformation of community care services in Iceland, global efforts in women's health equity, practical challenges for clinicians working in health tech, and the impact of innovation in underserved populations.This episode was recorded during HLTH Europe 2025 in Amsterdam. To catch all the discussions that Talking HealthTech had during HLTH, including discussions with all the Australian organisations p...
2025-07-2837 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthHealthtech comms. Communicate your impactYour Metrics Don’t Matter If No One Gets the Message : Health Tech Comms with James Somauroo of SomX. Listen on Apple, Spotify. Watch on Youtube. We cover one of the most overlooked drivers of success in health innovation: communication. Our guest, James Somauroo, has hosted over 400 podcasts and built one of the most influential media and communications agencies in health tech. His work spans startups, Big Tech, life sciences, and everything in between, helping organizations craft messages that resonate, build trust, and drive impact.We explore why so many well...
2025-07-0855 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthHow the World Health Organization is evolvingA conversation on the future of the World Health Organization, rethinking how we approach digital implementation and funding in LMICs, and what it really means to decolonize global health.“Countries need to be in the driver’s seat of their own development agenda… The earmarking of assistance has to stop.” - Dr. Alain Labrique, Director, Digital and Innovation, World Health OrganizationAbsolutely chuffed to have had the chance to speak with WHO Director of Digital Health and Innovation, Dr Alain Labrique. That he’s also a listener of the podcast? Even better.Alain i...
2025-06-1156 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthImplementation 101 and how to fail wellImplementation. What does it mean? Why is it hard? How do we get it right? Failure. Are we, in Global Digital Health, thinking and acting in a way that doesn't help us move forward?Caroline Perrin, Director of the Geneva Digital Health Hub joins us on the Global Perspectives on Digital Health podcast to share her views on this. This episode is for the people doing the work to ensure digital health tools actually work for people.It's about the messy realities - people, process, managing change and looking to constantly improve as...
2025-05-1445 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthFrom crisis to revolution. Why Africa's moment is now, a healthtech VC's case.A healthtech investor's view on healthcare in Africa in the next 10 years. If you’re building or investing for impact with underserved communities in Africa, this episode is for you. Rowena Luk has walked the talk. She is the ‘OG’ of creating visibility on digital health in Africa, and has built and scaled for impact in over 40 countries on the continent, and has now scaled her own impact to support founders through her VC firm Africa Health Ventures. This episode covers so much, especially the challenges that Africa fa...
2025-05-071h 04
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthRegulatory strategy for founders and policy makersPractical breadth and depth on the global state of regulation from someone at the cutting edge of regulatory policy. Shubs welcomes Hugh Harvey, founder of Hardian Health and a regulatory expert in digital health. Shubs and Hugh discuss the complex landscape of medical device regulation worldwide, with emphasis on how these frameworks impact digital health innovation in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Guest BackgroundHugh Harvey is a former radiologist who transitioned to the digital health industry. After working at Babylon Health and serving as Clinical Director at Kheiron Medical (where they se...
2025-04-2255 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthHealth First, Innovation Second. Smisha Agarwal on what needs to change in global digital health.Dr. Smisha Agarwal (Johns Hopkins University Global Center for Digital Health Innovation) joins me to unpack some hard truths on the Global Perspectives on Digital Health podcast. 🛑 Why global health systems remain fragile 📉 How digital tools often scale without legitimacy 📊 What’s wrong with our fixation on "did it work?" and significance values 🔁 And how global health is stuck in systems that haven’t evolved💬 “We’re brought into a system of aid and global development that has stopped questioning how things were done. And the world has progressed...
2025-04-1644 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthDigital mental health research insightsBringing research to implementation. Shubs is joined by Lucy Cesnakova from DiMe in this quick dive into an important piece of research bringing insights to advance digital solutions that serve mental health, DiMe's work here was great here because Lucy and the team intentionally sought out input from different countries, access levels and other demographics across the ecosystem. It's great that the Wellcome Trust funded this work. And more of this type of research would clearly be, ahem, welcome. Why should I listen? This will be useful if you are building solutions with underserved...
2025-03-2819 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthEthics for digital health companiesSpecial bonus episode. This is a shortened version of the episode with Jess Morley, focusing on ethical approaches and takeaways relevant for digital health companies. How do you move from having ethical approaches as 'nice to haves' to actually getting prioritised. It can be tough when good intentions rub up against business realities. Jess shows how you can avoid getting your initiative or feature getting kicked down the roadmap. People who will find this useful:Product managers and product leadersDesign/UX folkSoftware engineersClinical safety officers
2025-02-1016 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthMaking ethics actionable in digital healthMaking Ethics Actionable. What can the UK’s AI Action plan reveal about the state of ethics in the digital health industry?If you are a health system leader or government entity, how do you elevate ethical approaches in your ecosystem? What levers are available?And for the builders: product leaders, founders, clinicians at health tech companies, software engineers, designers, QA folk: how to negotiate and advocate for ethical approaches against business realities in the current climate?We cover all of this, as...
2025-01-2058 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthPolicy insights from the Rwanda Ministry of Health and FIND🎙️ New Episode: Connecting Global & Local Perspectives in Digital Health ImplementationIn this special episode, we close out the year with two fantastic guests: Rigveda Kadam, Digital and AI Lead at FIND, and Andrew Muhire, Chief Digital Officer at Rwanda's Ministry of Health.Building on the innovator insights in Rwanda from our previous episode with Dr. Jana Alagarajah, this discussion dives into the critical connection between product development partners and ministries of health to create conditions for successful digital health implementation.From Rwanda’s patient-centered approach to FIND’s global perspective across LMICs, we explor...
2024-12-1955 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthCo-designing mental health solutions with young people in RwandaImplementing a digital mental health solution in Rwanda. What does real, meaningful co-design look like?What does it mean to truly engage with a community to develop a solution they actually use and that addresses their problems? What incentives and mindsets allow us to, instead of 'driving' a certain technology into a context, stop and listen, and go in with no pre-conceived notion of what would be built?How do we get procurement and policy to really value and elevate equitable solutions?These are some of the great questions we covered in the...
2024-12-0259 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthSupporting rural healthcare in India with technologyOverviewWe are joined in this episode by Ruchit Nagar, the CEO and Co-Founder of Khushi Baby. For his efforts to deliver scalable public health impact, Ruchit has been recognized as a Forbes 30 under 30 leader in Health Care, a World Innovation Summit in Health Young Innovator, and a Distinguished Young Alumnus by by the Yale School of Public HealthThis episode covers into the role of India's Community health workers, or Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs). We hear from Ruchit's experience implementing with Khushi baby the challenges of integrating technology to support health workers.
2024-11-131h 05
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthImpactful digital health transformation through a clear vision and values: insights from EswatiniEpisode 6: What can we learn about creating real impact for underserved communities from The Kingdom of Eswatini, a tiny country enveloped by South Africa?Join us on the latest episode of the Global Perspectives on Digital Health podcast where we hear from Executive Director of The Luke Commission, Echo Vanderwal about the way that set up healthcare services for those who needed it most and added digital in a way that enabled healthcare workers to deliver compassionate, high quality care. If you want to see how to create re...
2024-08-0259 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthWhat is the right approach for regulation and evaluation of digital health technologies?Episode 5: What is the right approach for regulation and evaluation of digital health technologies?In this conversation, Shubs Upadhyay interviews Stephen Gilbert, a professor of medical device regulatory science, about the challenges and successes of digital health regulation and implementation. They discuss the need for flexibility in regulation, the importance of feedback from clinicians and patients, and the evaluation of digital health technologies. They also explore the concept of suites or groupings of digital devices and the need for regulatory approaches that acknowledge their flexibility. Gilbert emphasizes the need for regulation to adapt to the...
2024-07-041h 10
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthCreating impact with AI in isolated communitiesEpisode 4: Creating real impact with AI in isolated communitiesIn this episode, Dino, a pioneer in the digital health landscape, shares his insights on how digital solutions and AI are revolutionizing the healthcare industry. He discusses the critical challenges such as overcrowded healthcare facilities and the urgent need for support for healthcare professionals. Dino’s extensive work at Audere focuses on utilizing digital tools to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes, particularly in underserved communities.Key Topics:Digital Solutions for Overcrowded Healthcare Facilities: Dino explores how digital health can alleviate pressure on he...
2024-05-1050 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthBridging the Gap: The Last Mile of Healthcare with Bilal Mateen, Digital Square @ PATHEpisode 3: How do we meaningfully bridge policy and real impact at the last mile of healthcare. Shubs Upadhyay interviews Bilal Mateen, Executive Director of Digital Square at PATH about digital health challenges and successes in underserved communities. They explore the importance of safety, regulatory considerations, and the need for inclusive data sets and data infrastructure. The discussion also covers the role of community health workers and the impact of AI and large language models in healthcare.Addendum : [As of October 2024 Bilal is now Chief AI Officer at PATH]Key Topics:
2024-05-0257 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthHealth Data Poverty Part 2 with Prof Alexandre FilhoEpisode 2: Practical Solutions to Health Data PovertyIn this episode, we continue our exploration of health data poverty, showcasing a team that's making a real difference based on the issues discussed in Part 1 with Dr. Xiao Liu.We're thrilled to have spoken with Prof. Alexandre Filho, a Professor of Machine Learning in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He shared insights on how his team has been maximizing the impact of data-driven technology in Brazil. Prof. Filho's remark, "The world is becoming more like Brazil," sets the stage for a discussion on what the global community...
2024-03-1431 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthHealth Data Poverty Part 1 with Xiao LiuEpisode 1: Health data poverty : what can we do about it?Join us as we dive into a crucial conversation with Dr. Xiao Liu, a leading figure in AI ethics, evaluation, and regulation. This episode focuses on one of the most pressing issues in the field: health data poverty. We cover what it is, and how we might go about addressing this. Key Topics:Defining Health Data Poverty: What it means and why it matters for global health.Relevance to Developed Nations: Understanding the implications for the US, EU, and U...
2024-03-1433 min
Global Perspectives on Digital HealthGPODH - TrailerWelcome to the trailer for the Global Perspectives on Digital Health Podcast. Join Shubs as he unpacks insights from experts and innovators creating real impact for underserved communities around the world. Shubs is a physician working in digital health. With experience across product development and deployment, regulation and also with the ITU/WHO focus group AI for healthcare as co-chair of the working group on clinical evaluation Shubs has seen the challenges across the digital and healthcare ecosystem. Join these conversations as he seeks out innovators and experts to unpack what we can do to cr...
2023-03-0101 min
The Healthtech Podcast#217 Quick Tips with Dr Shubs Upadhyay from AdaThis week Dr. Shubs Upadhyay, Director of Medical Quality at global health company Ada shares his quick tips for entrepreneurs with James.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shubs-upadhyay-494691132/Apply to be a guest: www.thehealthtechpodcast.com/Subscribe to Healthtech Pigeon 🐦: www.healthtechpigeon.comGet in touch with James : www.jamessomauroo.comLearn more about SomX for your healthtech company: https://www.somx.co.uk/
2021-08-0108 min
The Healthtech Podcast#210 The Story of Ada with Director Dr Shubs Upadhyay 👨⚕️This week, James is joined by Dr. Shubs Upadhyay, Director of Medical Quality at global health company Ada. An NHS GP and a digital health enthusiast, Shubs is a strong advocate for the potential of technology to support clinicians with patient care and to empower individuals to be more proactive about their health. He is the Clinical Evaluation WG Co-chair of the ITU/WHO Focus Group AI for Health, focused on global benchmarking for AI solutions in healthcare, and the co-creator of Docolabs.io, which focuses on getting clinical insights early into digital health product development.Guest...
2021-07-0150 min
eGPlearning PodblasteGPlearning Podblast episode 8 - GDPRContact us and share your opinioneGPlearning Podblast is a health tech talk by two Nottingham based GPs covering recent topics, useful clinical apps, and interviews with primary care health tech innovators.Hosted by Dr Hussain Gandhi (@drGandalf52) and Dr Andrew Foster (@drawfoster).This is a themed episode where we cover the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and how we feel they will impact primary care. A must listen episode for GDPR wary clinicians. Shout outs:Ben Gowland : @BenXGowland and owner of General Practice Podcast which we...
2018-05-2540 min