Things that have now been covered in-depth by every event under the sun:

AI - this is exciting!

AI - this is scary!

AI - this session was written by AI!

AI - this is the future!

AI - these are the ethical implications!

But amongst the passion, paradoxes, and pontificating about what our terrifying/exciting future does/doesn't look like, where is AI actually working? What can it actually DO for you, and your patients, right now?

A 2024 McKinsey survey showed that more than 70% of healthcare leaders say they’re pursuing or have already implemented gen AI in some capacity. So, who's got past the awe and into the adoption? And is it the promised land so many have anticipated?

This is a panel of AI do-ers, not debaters. 

What do the Olsens, the Winklevosses, and the Weasleys have in common? 

If you answered that each family has a set of identical twins, then treat yourself to 10 points on us.

Digital twins were pioneered by NASA in the 1960s, to simulate a spacecraft, allowing engineers to debug flight issues in real-time. But despite their Space Age promise, their growth in healthcare has been a stop-start affair. Until now.

Digital twins appear to have turned a corner in the last 12 months. The pairing of digital twins with GenAI, which enables quicker creation, enhanced simulations, and personalised decision-making is allowing better system modelling, behavioural prediction and forecasted outcomes. At a population level, a 2024 Nature paper estimated their collective effectiveness to be 80% for precision medicine.

Is this the future of precision healthcare? Or are we seeing double?

From decision support to medical scribes, analytics and patient monitoring, AI is becoming a part of everyday clinical life. 

But one area has surged ahead. A sector that was using AI long before everyone and their nan had heard of ChatGPT. Diagnostics.

It’s had its doubters, and overcome many of them. Much of healthcare retains an understandable level of scepticism towards AI, but in diagnostics it’s becoming commonplace. And that has positive repercussions for all healthcare AI.

Studies have shown unbelievable accuracy rates, including 93% in heart disease classification, potentially saving lives.

So let’s dive deeper into diagnostics. Where is it working and how much further can it go? 

Remember your first work meeting? Fresh from your studies, shirt ironed by your mum, sitting in the corner 10 minutes early.

Then the barrage begins. The acronyms. You nod along, wanting to seem like you're not entirely lost. But what is a BDR? Why must we update the SOP by COP? If we need blue sky thinking, why are we in a windowless room?

Over time, it becomes second nature. You instinctively get why the KPIs are FUBAR. You barely notice you’re deep-diving into a brain dump. But that first meeting? The overwhelm sticks.

And so it is with AI. AI’s growth has outpaced every technology in recent years. The healthcare AI market is set to grow 2200% to $22 billion by 2027. But keeping up can leave even the tech-savvy feeling out of the loop (OoTL).

So we’re bringing together leading AI experts to answer your anonymous questions on AI and its impact on the sector. In this room, there’s no such thing as a stupid question.

Foundation models in AI are the crest of a transformative wave across healthcare, promising to reshape the way we approach medical research, drug discovery, and patient care. Yet, while their potential is enormous, their full implementation often feels as elusive as it is exciting.

These advanced models are not only driving breakthroughs but opening a Pandora’s box of possibilities. From enhancing diagnostic accuracy and personalising treatment plans to accelerating scientific research, foundation models hold unprecedented power. 

But with this promise comes a set of profound challenges: data privacy concerns, algorithmic bias, and the evolving roles of healthcare professionals. Health leaders now find themselves navigating this complex terrain, tasked with balancing the rapid evolution of AI technologies with the ethical, regulatory, and practical challenges of their implementation. That the future is AI is clear. But the right pathway is not.

As a continent, Europe can often be on its high-horse about weight loss drugs.

One in eight US adults has used GLP-1s for weight loss, with projections suggesting that number is set to rise substantially in the coming years.

But the benefits of GLP-1s are not just related to weight. Recent studies show they can reduce cardiovascular events by up to 26%, huge hemodynamic flow improvements and protection against gastric ulcers - effects with significantly more impact than "just" long-term population health.

 As growth slows in European economies, there are also economic benefits to be reaped. In the UK alone, the cost of obesity has been estimated at £98 billion annually, which represents around 4% of GDP. Recently, the UK government has partnered with Eli Lilly to provide GLP-1s for obesity to address work absenteeism and unemployment.

Is it time Europe embraced GLP-1s in the same way they have been over the pond?

When it comes to longevity, most of us have our boundaries. Eat more vegetables? Sure. Get more sleep? I'll try. Taking part in a "multi-generational plasma exchange"? Maybe not for everyone.

But there are people out there pushing the boundaries of longevity. From basic biohacking to processes taken straight from the pages of science fiction, the longevity industry is booming. 

Right now, many of these new methods are prohibitively expensive for public health systems, let alone the average Joe. Increased knowledge and data will refine the processes and replicability, driving down costs and opening them up to the masses. Will there be long term positive repercussions for all? Or will it always be the playground of the wealthy?

What does your bra say about you? No, wait. Come back. Don't go to HR. This is a serious question. And one we may soon have the answer to thanks to the next generation of wearables.

From earrings to bras, nano thin fabrics to Brain-Computer Interfaces, the sector's growth is exponential, expected to reach €120 billion by 2028, a CAGR of 13.8% from 2021 to 2028.

We're at a juncture where it doesn't feel like hyperbole to say it won't be long until every item of clothing you own will be able to track some aspect of your health.

But with great data comes great danger. Who owns it? Will it be fed to insurers and impact premiums? 

And the wider question with wearables remains - can it ever make the leap to impacting population health and improving health equity, rather than just benefitting its users?

Clinicians are having a glow up. Or at least they’re getting younger. 75% of the HCP community will be digital natives by 2030, composed of millennials and Gen Zs who are increasingly leveraging social media as part of their professional journeys.

Gen Z’s self-care era is showing us what the future of health could look like. Gen Z has spilled all the tea on how they’re living better, and one of their main obsessions? Healthcare, fr. 

From ditching alcohol, to being on their supplement grind, and prioritising mental health, they’re set to be the longest-living generation yet - not just because of tech, but because they’re taking their health seriously from day one.

Would we be out of pocket to ignore the future of health? Big yikes.

Say less.

Audience note: This was reviewed by a certified Gen Zer, who gave it a side-eye emoji IRL.

In November 2024, Forward Health, once heralded as the future of D2C Primary Care, abruptly closed its doors. Within hours, every link on its site led to the same page, stating “Much like the healthcare system, this link is broken”. 

Another victim of a market that is all too often seen as simple to crack. Primary Care.

That primary care needs change, globally, isn’t really news. It is the backbone of every healthcare system, but one that increasingly requires a backbrace and walking stick to stay upright. Lack of clinicians, brick and mortar locations closing at an alarming rate, a huge increase in demand, and a relentless widening of scope have created the perfect storm. 

But one of the beautiful things about humankind is the relentless ability to pull triumph from disaster. To think so far outside the box that the box is merely a dot on the horizon. And where primary care is concerned that’s exactly what’s happening. From drone delivery to mobile practices, human ingenuity is finding ways to fill the primary care deserts on the map.

For Primary Care to throw off the shackles, we must look to our neighbours to find best practice, and stories of hope and transformation. We think we know just the people.

"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival", may have been a particularly glib off-the-cuff remark from the American composer W. Edwards Deming, but his argument remains compelling.

One of the greatest limitations of any education system is its ability to keep up with the rapid pace of change in innovation. Traditional curricula and rigid structures are not always the best places to introduce the innovations being used in a system.

But we must learn. Around 500,000 healthcare workers in Europe could have to change occupations by 2030, according to McKinsey.

Resource constraints, resistance to change and a natural focus on traditional clinical skills all play their parts in this. As a result medical education programmes run the risk of bringing through brilliant clinicians with technological blindspots. Can these programmes change to ensure innovation and technology are seen as as core a part of learning as the traditional curricula? And if so, how?

Across Europe, euthanasia and/or assisted suicide, is legal in, amongst others, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

Assisted dying debates are ongoing in a number of other European countries, but the tide appears to be turning. Of those listed above, four have been brought in since 2020.

The debates around euthanasia and medically assisted death are amongst the most nuanced, in almost innumerable ways.

But as Europe grapples with workforce shortages, increasing longevity and the cost of palliative care, is now the time to shift the debate out of the moral realm, and into the economic reality of modern Europe?

Public health! We all know we should be doing more about it, but let's be honest. It's not the sexiest area of healthcare, is it? Making small changes to society's habits and environments is incredible, and tragically unsung work, but it rarely makes the front pages.

But here at HLTH Europe, we say "front pages be damned". Europe is packed to the rafters with exciting, innovative public health projects, and we want to bring them to the fore. It doesn't have to be just smoking cessation posters in your GP practice, it can be creative, courageous and compassionate.

Finland is pushing all of its cities to build health into urban planning, promoting walkability and creating environments that support healthy lifestyles. At the same time in Spain, Mental Health Streets have begun to pop up - urban areas with sensory gardens, public art, and quiet zones to improve resident’s mental health. 

Come celebrate these bold visionaries redefining public health, proving that while it may not always make the headlines, their work is as transformative as it is tantalising—because when it comes to health, innovation will always be sexy.

For generations, you went to see the doctor. Sat in a waiting room. Read a magazine from seven years ago.

Then the pandemic hit, and you waited to see the doctor on your phone or laptop screen. The pendulum swung from one side to the other.

Telehealth was the future, and in-person visits were as much of a relic as paper-based medical records, pagers, and fax machines. Alright, maybe those are poor examples. But telehealth was the future. Or so the rhetoric went.

But this rhetoric is as unhelpful as it is untrue. Virtual and in-person consultations are not a threat to one another. They provide balance. Harmony. The ability for providers to offer the right type of care for patients.

So where does the balance lie? Has anyone mastered it? And when will we stop pitting one type of consultation against another?

The hologram will see you now. With AI analysing inputs far faster and more accurately than humans, virtual telehealth already in use, and robotic surgery progressing at an astonishing rate, this house believes that the age of physical, human, doctors is drawing to a close.

According to the WHO, Europe has an estimated shortfall of around 1.6 million health and social care workers in 2024 and will be 4 million short by 2030, at which point Europe will be short of 600,000 doctors, 2.3 million nurses and 1.1 million social care staff and assistants.

A doctorless society could lower healthcare costs while improving access, and ultimately outcomes. The role of the human doctor is evolving from necessity to novelty. 

But the flipside of the coin argues that the human element is irreplaceable. Doctors, as humans, have the unique ability to interpret complex, nuanced situations, communicate with empathy, and make critical, judgement-based decisions that cannot be replicated by machines.

Join us for a heated Oxford Union-style debate between some of the brightest minds in the sector, as we ask whether the future really is doctor-free.

We all know kids learn the basics of healthy living in school - eat your veggies, exercise, brush your teeth - but does it really go far enough? Are we doing enough to equip young people with a deep understanding of how their everyday choices impact their long-term health? 

This session takes a fresh look at how early-stage education and healthcare systems in Europe can work together to create a generation of young people who are not only health-conscious but also actively engaged in shaping their own well-being, and that of those around them.

How can schools and healthcare providers team up to make health lessons stick for life? What roles do teachers, doctors, and parents play in this health revolution? Where’s the spark that gets all this moving? Who’s leading the charge: schools, health systems, or maybe the students themselves?

When it comes to healthcare IT, the only constant is change.

Depending on the source you choose, the average hospital runs somewhere between 200 and 8,000 separate systems. All of these churn out seemingly limitless information and data. Marrying this data is a huge challenge, and as AI, IOT, and virtual care models progress, the run rate of data production shows no sign of slowing.

The challenge is separating the wheat from the chaff and marrying it up.

We've brought together some of the world's leading experts to talk about how they do just that.

Over the summer of 2024, HLTH Europe conducted dozens of interviews with CIOs from across Europe to ask them one, simple, question: “What keeps you awake at night?” 

From scaling AI and automation, to pilotisis and prioritisation, interoperability and integrations, the answers flooded in thick and fast. CIOs, it would appear, are not sleeping well.

As their role continues to grow in importance, we’re asking what’s hot and what’s not in the world of the CIOs, and how can healthtech help them go from despair to dreamland. 

The earliest recorded use of the phrase "putting the cart before the horse" was in the 16th Century. Meaning "to do things in the wrong order", it would appear we’ve not learnt a great deal in the 400 years since.

From wonky Wi-Fi to inadequate infrastructure, we all know what hospital leaders are dealing with on an every day basis. We can have all the SaaS we like loaded onto blistering fast modern hardware. If not even the Wi-Fi is working we might as well have neither. Without solid digital foundations, healthtech becomes just another burden instead of the solution it promises to be.

How do hospital leaders remain positive and keep on building those foundations?

If Europe has learnt anything from "in" vs "out" debates in recent years, it's that nuance is of the utmost importance.

With the EHDS finally getting to implementation, patient trust, long nurtured under GDPR’s strict consent requirements, faces disruption as we shift to an “opt-out” model.

Convincing patients to trust a new data-sharing paradigm is as critical as the technical hurdles. The spectre of a mass opt-out campaign looms large.

Success lies in a delicate balance - unifying Europe’s data-sharing frameworks while respecting national differences. 

As EHDS evolves, collaboration and trust are essential to keep the wheels turning smoothly. After all, while building something monumental takes time, one loose cog in the machinery could grind progress to a halt. Ensuring that every piece works in harmony is crucial to seeing this ambitious project run like clockwork and deliver on its promise.

How can we ensure patient trust and cooperation in the European Health Data Space while balancing national autonomy and data-sharing needs across the EU?

The simple answer to the question "Can regulation ever move as fast as tech?" is "No". 

In order for regulation to regulate, it has to have something to regulate for. Tech will always have a first-mover advantage.

But can the gap be shortened? Absolutely. Right now the time lapse between new technologies entering the fray and regulators being able to validate them is too long. Tech may hare ahead, but in the long run the tortoise always wins.

What needs to change? Is it possible? And how might pulling together as a continent enable us to expedite the process? 

The German word for payer, kostenträger, literally translates to "carrier of costs". All too often payers are seen as some kind of healthcare ATM. Carrying limitless cash, ready to spend on any new innovation that comes their way.

Being a payer is hard. Far from being sat on buckets of gold, payers have to manage limited resources, balancing the demand for new innovations with the need for sustainable, long-term healthcare solutions. 

We’ve brought together an All-Star payer panel, to explain exactly what payers are looking for.

DEI being paramount not only to the equity of an organisation, but also to its success, isn't debatable.

DEI should be foundational, integrated into every decision from the start - from ensuring drugs are tested across a broad spectrum of society, that pathways meet the needs of every patient, and that all voices, especially those from historically marginalised communities, are included in the development and evaluation of health policies. It should not be something considered after decisions are made. 

By treating DEI as a "tick-box" exercise, organisations may miss opportunities to foster a truly inclusive culture.

This proactive approach would make DEI part of an organisation’s core and contribute to a more inclusive, equitable environment, essential for long-term success.

So how can we ensure that inclusion is embedded into the fabric of every decision we make?

Amid the bustling streets of Athens and the refugee camps that sprawl endlessly through Southern Turkey, a profound humanitarian struggle continues. For the 25 million displaced people in Europe fleeing violence, poverty, and war, access to healthcare is not just a matter of survival—it's a lifeline to dignity and hope.

This isn't a policy debate. It’s about a global commitment to compassion. It's the story of the healthcare heroes working tirelessly to tear down barriers to care for the most vulnerable. It's healthcare workers, many of whom have experienced displacement themselves, providing care, warmth, and the assurance that these forgotten individuals are not only seen, but valued.

Every human, regardless of borders or circumstance, deserves the right to health and well-being. As a continent, and indeed a race, we must ensure that refugees aren’t just treated, but that their humanity is recognised and honoured. Not just in camps, but across the continent. Health equity evolution is about so much more than just access—it’s about restoring hope where it’s most needed.

How can we meet this urgent call for compassion? 

N.B. This panel is centred on healthcare-related issues, not political ones. Please read HLTH’s code of conduct for more information on HLTH’s approach to political situations.

Being a parent is a tough gig. A rewarding gig. But a tough gig.

In today’s world, the old saying “it takes a village” is fading fast. Technology, meant to simplify life, has only added more pressure. And while parents juggle work, home, and family, dangerous new threats are quietly taking root.

20% of 11-17-year-old children in the UK have tried vaping. A European Commission survey found that 30% of parents are deeply concerned about their children’s mental well-being, with anxiety and depression on the rise, particularly linked to social media.

These issues are hitting younger kids, and they’re devastating. Suicide rates among teens are climbing, and parents often miss the signs until it’s too late.

In a world where both parents work and the “village” is disappearing, it’s up to us to recognise these threats and protect our children. 

The dangers are real, and ignoring them could be deadly.

Challenging the notion that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, Silvertech is shaking up the industry and proving that seniors are far from being left behind in the digital revolution. 

In fact, around 61% of adults over 65 now own a smartphone in Europe, showing that they’re tapping, swiping, and scrolling just like the younger generations. From digital health management to keeping in touch with loved ones, silvertech is tackling ageing head-on with tech-savvy solutions for everything—whether it’s better mobility, preventative care, or even adding more years to their lives.

Despite the outdated image of seniors as tech-averse, many are embracing virtual care services and accessing health information online. 

As the ageing population grows, silvertech offers a golden opportunity for innovation and investment, paving the way for older adults to live their best lives with a little help from technology. 

It's less long in the tooth, more long in the bluetooth.

There’s a temptation to declare providers as mysterious - their wants and needs an enigma. But speak to provider leaders, and they know what they want, and what challenges they have to solve. As one put it to us: “Don’t bring me solutions to problems I didn’t know I have”. 

With VCs sat on more unused capital than any time in recent memory, is now the time for better links between investors and providers? After all, when the pool of customers is limited, understanding their needs becomes of paramount importance.

Being a headline writer in European tech has been a depressing job for the last few years.

But here at HLTH Europe we say no to negativity.

 Yes, the waters have been choppy. Yes, the numbers are down. But there are still reasons to celebrate. Companies to champion. Success stories and triumphs. 

HLTH started in Las Vegas, and we know that when the chips are down, you have two choices. Leave the party or double down. And we choose to double down. To celebrate the wins. Because more are coming. We'd bet the house on it.

There are many crimes in healthtech marketing. We won’t name them all, for fear of alienating literally everyone. But top of the list is the term "patient-centric" when the product in question has not, in fact, been developed with patients.

Boil healthcare down to its bare minimum and it’s about keeping patients alive and healthy. And yet so often, they’re not in the room when decisions are made. 

It’s time to flip that script. To give patients a seat at the table, after all, who better to share the future of healthcare than those living it every day?

Are you getting too much sleep? A little too much free time on the weekends? Enjoying a splendid work-life balance?

Well, have we got the solution for you! Become a founder, and you'll receive the following benefits:

• - An almost limitless amount of work!

• -Free anxiety!

• -Nightly 3am existential crises!
  
  All that for less money than you're on now, and in a more difficult market than we've seen in years!

Jokes aside, being a founder is a tough gig.

Whether you're going solo, pairing up with a trusted ally, or even going into it as a group, there's never an easy path to success. 

Hear all about the trials, tribulations but also the triumphs from our panel of founders who've made the impossible, possible.

In 2021, Private Equity, like every other investment sector, surged into healthcare, investing $50.97 billion in healthtech. By 2023 this had dropped back down to $9.18 billion, more in line with 2019’s figures.

This may all seem quite doom-laden, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Across the healthtech landscape there are numerous opportunities. Traditionally PE has focused on investing in large, high-growth healthcare technology companies. 

But for those funds looking for companies with the potential for double-digit growth, the midtier of healthtech offers an intriguing opportunity.

What areas of healthtech are ready for a new wave of PE funding? What emerging trends or technologies within healthtech could catalyse a resurgence in Private Equity investment?

There's a saying amongst Navy SEALS - "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast". The idea that doing things methodically and deliberately may feel like slower progress is made, but ultimately gets you there faster. 

When it comes to transformation in healthcare, we've mastered the slow bit. In fact we're arguably the world's leading sector when it comes to slow transformation. Smooth? Not so much.

We are notorious for our slow adoption of innovation. Some of this is unavoidable - healthcare regulations are often written in blood.

But we cannot hide behind this. Cultural resistance, ingrained systems and a lack of short-term capacity to do things that would free up long-term capacity.

To truly transform, organisations must evolve into "smooth operators" – agile, responsive, and forward-thinking. But is this even possible in a sector where slow is slow and smooth is a pipedream?

The year is 2021. 

Events are back in person for the first time in 18 months.

And you've only just picked up your badge when someone sidles up and shouts 'DiGA' in your ear. 

So this is the "new normal".

In Germany tested health apps can be prescribed as part of statutory health insurance since the Digital Care Act came into force on December 19, 2019.

It was seen as a watershed moment in European healthtech, and indeed healthcare, history.

Across Europe Minister Jens Spahn was lauded as a visionary. This was the moment. It was all going to be OK. One area of healthtech had a viable, reliable, certifiable route to getting paid. To making profit. Across Europe, VC pockets quivered with anticipation.

Other nations raced to fall into line. And yet just a few years later, and following a spate of DTx companies going under in Germany and across the globe, DTx has lost some of its shine. 

Where once the pathway to getting paid looked clearer, storm clouds have gathered again.

Googling "Pitch deck advice" is about as effective as Googling "What is this rash?". You’ll get a hundred different opinions, each more convincing than the last. Soon your deck is the length of a novel and the file is too big to share by email. But it is written. And off it goes.

Across town, in an office that isn't quite as nice as the outside would have you believe, a tired VC investment manager opens their inbox.

Amongst the "pls fix" emails there are a plethora of pitch decks. Their weary eyes scan each slide as the cleaner lifts their legs to vacuum under them. 

Too much text. Not enough narrative. Unrealistic figures. Is that really the TAM? Crumbs, is that really the time? Best head home, another 100 decks to review tomorrow.

But help is at hand, in the form of our All-Star VC panel, who will guide you through the needs and wants, dos and don'ts of building a deck to smash your funding goals.

Is this the same title as last year? Yes. Yes it is. 

Was it the most saved track session last year? Yes, yes it was. 

Is reusing your own titles lazy? Yes, yes it is. But we’ve written 90 of these now, and our brains hurt.

It can often feel like there are more pillars in healthtech than there are in Athens. From robotics to RPM, biomarkers to blockchain, AI to automation. We’re awash with pillars, verticals and sectors.

Every investment fund will have their own thesis. But with just 9% of European VC deals making the coveted 10x return on investment, what to pick in a market so broad is an unrelenting challenge. Go all in on AI? Stick to your specialised silos? Double down on diagnostics?

Fear not though, we’ve pulled together an all-star panel of VCs, the great and the good, to guide you through it.

Quite a lot of things peaked in the COVID pandemic. Banana bread baking. Sex toy sales. Zoom’s share price. All of which, on reflection, make sense. Except the banana bread.

Also riding high were the telehealth startups. Wild valuations, IPOs, huge rounds. This was telehealth’s big moment, and it was determined to seize it. All of which, on reflection, makes sense. Except the IPOs.

But as it turns out, levels of growth heavily dependent on nobody being allowed outside are not overly sustainable when people are, once again, allowed outside.

But since 2022 the growth of telehealth has dropped off significantly. Some of the biggest names are long gone. Down rounds abound. The EU is likely to remove €1 billion in funding for the EU4Health programme that has supported telehealth, and other initiatives, since 2021.

Has it now found its rightful size? Or is this just a temporary muting?

We tell our children to dream big. Childhood, unencumbered by cynicism, or perhaps much perception of reality, is the perfect time for this. Ask a child what their dream is, and you’ll get all manner of "I want to be an astronaut". "I’m going to be World Queen". "I’ll invent a flying car".

Ask a founder and you might get "to make it to the next round" or "I want out" (as 49% of founders told Sifted this year). 

But what is being a founder if not the fierce, relentless pursuit of a dream? And what better dream to start with than €100 million in revenue.

Hear from the founders who’ve reached this goal - those who dared to dream big, broke through barriers, and turned their visions into reality.

If you were to rank all of the different uses of the word "round" from most enjoyable to least, it might go:

1. 1. Round of drinks

2. 2. Round of golf

3. 3. 10 rounds with Tyson Fury

4. 4. Funding rounds
   
   

Which probably says more about the current state of the VC market than it does the ageing heavyweight’s waning powers.

But big rounds are still out there. Sifted’s 2023 healthtech funding report showed five single rounds over $140 million in Europe alone that year.

Hear from those who’ve raised over the magical €100 million mark and the VCs willing to write the biggest cheques. How they did it, what they’ve learnt, and what’s next on the growth agenda.

Ops. Logs. CS. Departments so dedicated to efficiency and speed they rarely bother spelling their full names. Legend has it they invented the initialism NP. Because for ops, there are No Problems. Only challenges to be solved.

Delivery remains one of the biggest challenges in healthcare. The dream has been sold. The ink on the contract is barely dry. Over to you, Ops.

This founder-only, Chatham House session dives into tips and tricks for efficiently running healthcare startup operations. It’s a space for successful founders to share hard-won lessons - what works, what doesn’t, and what to avoid at all costs.

Had The Founding Fathers been The Founder Fathers, the Declaration of Independence may have well have been slightly shorter:

"We the People of Healthtech, in order to maintain runway, establish global presence, and secure the blessings of our VCs, need to scale in America."

249 years later, the need to scale state-side is more pressing than ever. Those of you who’ve not been living under a Plymouth rock will have noticed that European health systems are a little budget-shy at present. Over the pond, 2024 saw $47 billion of spend on digital health in 2024, expected to rise to over $70 billion by 2029. For many healthtech companies in Europe and beyond, the US looks from afar like a golden life raft.

For those who do manage to achieve the American dream, the rewards can be substantial. But if you want to find yourself on healthtech’s Mount Rushmore, then you’ll need the advice of a panel who’ve been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt.

Spend enough time loitering in the cafes of Paris, the slopes of Val d’Isere or ambling through the hills of the Loire, and you’ll eventually hear someone utter "petit à petit, L'oiseau fait son nid". Little by little, the bird builds its nest.

Scaling healthtech in France can feel like a frustratingly slow process. But the recent success of some US and other European startups in breaching the French borders show times are changing. Vive la révolution!

European healthtech startups raised nearly €4.86 billion in 2022 (including €1.7billion in France, almost treble the €577 million of 2021), almost 35% of the entire market. 

This has been spurred on by strong government support. The appetite for healthtech is serious enough that it forms a substantial part of the flagship France 2030 economic renewal programme - with more than €7 billion being mobilised for the Healthcare Innovation 2030 strategy.

With Bastille Day around the corner, perhaps now is time for you to stage your own French Revolution?

To say the NHS is in "a bit of a pickle" would be a glorious piece of British understatement. Setting out his plans for the next few years, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP himself declared “the NHS is broken, but not beaten”. 

But this isn’t the first time the NHS has been declared DOA, and the statement doesn’t necessarily stand up to scrutiny in all areas. Investment into UK healthtech remains the highest in Europe and it is still a phenomenally popular market for those looking to scale globally. 

Our panel of superstars are here to show you that if you can get over the hurdles of regulation and funding, the opportunities for innovation and improvement within the NHS are not just possible, but abundant.

Forty-five minutes before this session was written, the German government, once a bastion of stability, decided to collapse. This rather scuppered the previous description about how Germany was building towards a brighter tech-enabled healthcare future.

By the time we meet in Amsterdam, there will likely be a new government, and with it a new focus within healthcare.

Regardless of government, change is afoot. 2024 saw the first DiGA company to reach 100k prescriptions, a welcome reprieve for a system that had come under increasing pressure. From January 2025, EHRs will become mandatory across Germany. But if you want to crack Deutschland, you’ll need a helping Deutsch-hand. Sorry.

Join our panel of German Genius, to find out how to gain traction from Munich to Münster.

Whilst the Nordic nations often top the charts when Europe’s healthcare systems get ranked, one other nation is always in the mix for the top spot - The Netherlands.

Look through any list of the best healthcare systems in the world, organised by virtually any metric, and you won’t have to scroll far to find the Netherlands.

Following a comprehensive overhaul in 2006 that unified statutory health insurance with various private schemes into a single mandated system, the Netherlands has climbed impressively in the rankings.

Join our panel of Dutch Dynamos to find out how to gain traction in Der Nederland, and as they say in Dutch you too may "fall with your nose in the butter".

Imagine researching anything—like restaurant reviews or a new sofa—and ignoring half of the population. That’s how medical research has historically been done.

Women, despite being over 50% of the population, are underrepresented in medical studies. For example, women often make up less than 38% of cardiovascular study participants, even though heart disease is their leading global killer. Pregnant women? Frequently excluded, leaving a dangerous lack of data on medication safety. A recent study showed women account for only 29–34% of industry-sponsored early-phase trials, largely due to overfocus on fertility concerns.

This exclusion has staggering consequences: just 5% of medications are adequately tested and labelled for pregnancy use. Of 213 drugs approved by the FDA between 2003 and 2012, only 5% included human pregnancy data.

Progress is happening. The EU’s Horizon Europe programme prioritises sex and gender in research funding. In the US, the FDA’s Diversity Action Plan (2024) targets underrepresentation, and NASEM continues refining guidance on including pregnant and lactating women.

While these initiatives are steps forward, much work remains. Inclusive research is critical for better science, better healthcare, and better lives.

From chronic pain to autoimmune diseases, women face a frustrating uphill battle throughout the healthcare journey. Research shows they’re more likely than men to have their symptoms dismissed, endure delays in diagnosis, and suffer greater side effects from treatments - all thanks to a system built with 'Reference Man' in mind. It’s time to stop treating women’s health as an afterthought.

This session dives into the shocking stats and systemic biases that plague women’s healthcare - like how it takes an average of four years longer for women to receive diagnoses compared to men for hundreds of diseases, and why they’re half as likely to get treatment for heart conditions. We’ll explore everything from the medical blind spots in diagnosis to the overlooked risks in treatment and post-care, shedding light on how the healthcare system can better deliver for women.

Join us for a deep dive into the data (prepare to be outraged) and a lively discussion on building a more equitable healthcare experience for women, one that finally puts their needs front and centre. Serious change awaits!

Globally, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives a year - roughly the population of The Netherlands. In the EU that equates to 1.7 million deaths annually, or 32.4%.

The British Heart Foundation has reported that coronary heart disease kills more than twice as many women as breast cancer in the UK annually, and that over a ten-year period over 8,200 women died needlessly following a heart attack. That’s nine women, in the UK alone, who will die needlessly during the time it takes for HLTH Europe to run its course. 

Issues of education, both in population health and medical training, abound. Systemic healthcare biases, unconscious gender assumptions, and delayed diagnoses are, to put it very directly, killing women.

How many more women must die needlessly before we take action to fix the gender bias in cardiovascular disease diagnosis and treatment?

Globally, the number of postmenopausal women is growing. The last available WHO figures (2021) show that in the 10 years to 2021, the number of women over 50 grew to 26%. As women live longer globally, thus further increasing this demographic, menopause remains underdiscussed. 

Early in 2024, The Lancet put forward four papers outlining some of the imbalance in discussions about menopause. Let us be exceptionally clear. All women will age. All woman experience menopause and will spend 40% of their lives in this stage.

Society has, The Lancet argues, created an ‘Oover-medicalised menopause’. We frame what is a completely natural period of transition as ‘a disease of oestrogen deficiency’. One to be combatted with hormone therapy. 

This exacerbates the negative attitude and stigma around menopause that ensures that it is underfunded, underdiscussed, and often dismissed. The worst kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.

This session is for everyone. This is the time to change the dialogue about menopause.

One of the more transformative, but not as attention-grabbing, impacts AI is likely to have over the next few years is around data interoperability.

Healthcare is the most data rich industry in the world, generating around 30% of all data. Harnessing it may be key to solving some of healthcare’s most pressing challenges - workforce shortages, inefficiencies in care delivery, and the increasing demand for personalised treatment. 

This session delves into the new demands AI places on data sharing, from improved data quality and structure to real-time accessibility. 

Panellists will examine how AI-driven systems change interoperability needs, focusing on what strategies will support future-ready healthcare.

Standards like FHIR are fundamental for healthcare data exchange, allowing diverse systems to “speak” a common language. This session will examine how FHIR and other standards advance seamless interoperability and support integrated, patient-centred care. 

Experts will discuss the challenges and global scaling opportunities for these standards in driving innovation.

Imagine AI effortlessly bridging gaps between poorly correlated data sets, creating a “dream” interoperability solution. 

This session will discuss AI’s potential to automate data matching, transforming fragmented systems. The focus will be on AI as a tool to streamline data merging and build a blueprint for the “ideal” implementation model in healthcare.

If you believe the internet - and frankly who doesn't? - then AI will be replacing basically everything by roughly lunchtime next Tuesday. One of the fastest of these hype trains has been AI led drug development. 

The slow, costly, cumbersome processes of old, fed into algorithms by hand. Versus the swish of an AI wand and voila! A pill is born. Or so the pitch goes.

The promise is huge. AI can identify potential drug candidates faster, more efficiently, and more cheaply than traditional methods.

The reality is a little murkier. LLMs and AI are only as good as the data that goes into them. Predicting human biology with accuracy that decades of research still can’t master will remain beyond them.

So, is AI truly the future of drug development, or are we setting ourselves up for another costly failure, masked by a shiny new tech trend? And if it does succeed, what does that mean for the future of the scientists whose jobs could be rendered obsolete?

It’s about time for a clinical trial revolution. For decades, patient recruitment and retention have been plagued by systemic inefficiencies, leaving countless patients unheard and potentially life-saving treatments unexplored.

The stark reality is that our current methods are not just outdated–they’re actively hindering progress. In fact, 9 of 10 trials ultimately double their original timeline in order to meet enrollment goals and 11% of research sites fail to enrol even a single patient. 

AI and emerging technologies are poised to shatter these longstanding barriers, offering a glimpse into a future where trials can be more effective. We’re seeing AI algorithms that can match patients to trials with precision, decentralised processes that bring studies to the participant rather than the other way around, and community partnerships that are built on trust. These advancements should be paired with the imperative to serve populations safely, equitably, and ethically. 

Let's dissect the current state of clinical trials, expose the gaps that have held us back, and chart a course toward a more inclusive, efficient future. This isn't just a discussion - it's a call to action.

Precision therapeutics have long been the promised land for pharma. The concept of every patient having access to a tailor-made (or should we say Taylor-made?) therapeutics was once so futuristic it was almost not worth discussing.

But with the Swift growth of genomics, AI, and real-time health monitoring in the past decade, the future is now. We are entering the precision therapeutics era. The shackles of old have been shaken off. 

What challenges remain in making precision therapeutics accessible to all, and how can we ensure these innovations reach every patient who stands to benefit? Look what you made me do.

The European Health Data Space (EHDS) promises to reshape healthcare across Europe by enabling seamless, secure data sharing. 

However, turning this vision into a practical, functional reality requires collaboration across sectors and countries.

In this session, leaders in policy, healthcare, and regulation will explore the immediate steps needed to move EHDS forward, addressing technical and regulatory barriers and establishing effective data governance practices. 

The discussion highlights real-world strategies for making data flow securely and efficiently across borders, creating a cohesive health data environment that improves care access and outcomes for all European citizens.

The session explores how EHDS can set a global example for integrated health data systems, bringing Europe closer to a truly connected healthcare landscape.

Hear from Ministers of Health from across continents to discuss the strategies shaping their national health systems.

With experiences spanning Belize, the Philippines, Qatar, and Honduras, our panellists will explore their most impactful reforms, discuss the challenges they face and the innovative strategies they’ve implemented to improve health outcomes.

This cross-continental exchange aims to spark dialogue on solutions that transcend borders, helping to strengthen healthcare systems worldwide.

By examining both successes and challenges, these ministers offer a unique perspective on the future of healthcare transformation that resonates across borders and regions.

As healthcare digitises globally, many countries are implementing nationwide strategies to meet their citizens’ health needs through technology.

This session will explore the critical role of secure, scalable digital platforms in driving these efforts, with health leaders from a variety of countries sharing their journeys.

Panellists will discuss specific initiatives, such as national data exchanges and citizen service portals, along with the challenges they faced in scaling and deploying these solutions.

Discover the lessons and practical steps required to create a resilient digital foundation at a national level.

Explore how Artificial Intelligence is already making a difference in healthcare, from improving diagnostics and streamlining processes to personalising care and expanding access.

Through case studies and practical examples, this discussion will provide actionable strategies for implementing AI to strengthen healthcare systems and improve outcomes for all.

This session highlights real-world examples of AI innovation and offers practical insights for leaders and policymakers on deploying AI effectively.

This session highlights transformation in action, bringing leaders from across payers, providers, and government on stage to share powerful case studies that highlight how they’re driving transformation in healthcare.

Through concrete examples, learn how these organisations are using data analytics, technology, and cross-sector partnerships to drive meaningful change.

Panellists will reveal how they’re overcoming barriers to deliver smarter, more efficient healthcare systems and setting the stage for sustainable, long-term impact in health services.