Digital Ecology Podcast

About Digital Ecology Podcast

The Digital Ecology podcast creates a window into the backstory of technology adoption in the UK’s healthcare system. Through interviews with experts in the field, we shine a light on the inner workings of digital health and uncover a world of complexity and challenge. We are in the foothills of technology adoption, where the hype doesn’t always match the reality.

Publisher

Digital Ecology

Category

health & fitness · health & fitness · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Mar 2022

Latest episode

25 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

30 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   25 Mar 2026

   Future of Digital Health in 2026: Exploring AI, Equity, and Innovation in Healthcare

   In this episode I speak with Pritesh Mistry, Fellow at the King's Fund, about the recent shifts and future direction of digital health in the NHS. We touch on the major developments of 2025, including structural changes, EPR rollout, and the launch of NHS Online. Pritesh highlights the NHS AI Ambassadors Group as a positive force for building skills and celebrating success in digital transformation. We discuss AI and ambient voice technology, what is hype versus reality, evidence gaps, and the complexity of adoption in clinical workflows. The importance of not just buying technology but also investing in staff, training, and relationships with suppliers to ensure sustainable change. We explore the impact of large language models like ChatGPT on both patients and clinicians, focusing on data protection and the need for clear guidance as these tools become more common. Discussing innovation, improvement, and transformation in terms of how NHS organisations can move ideas into practice, balancing governance with the freedom to test new approaches. Equity remains a key theme, with a call to embed diverse voices and consider the risks of bias as digital health evolves. Pritesh’s wish for the year ahead is that we continue to acknowledge and share the good work happening in digital health to inspire others. I hope this conversation provides practical insights for clinicians, researchers, and digital health professionals. If you found this episode informative, don't forget to leave a review and share your thoughts. Thank you for tuning in! The Digital Ecology Podcast is part of the Talking HealthTech Podcast Network, your go-to audio destination for the latest in healthcare delivery, innovation, digital health, healthcare ICT, and commercialisation. Discover more at talkinghealthtech.com/podcast/network.

2. 

   8 Dec 2025

   Rethinking Digital Transformation: From Transactional Systems to Human-Centered Change

   In this episode, I speak with Paul Taylor about the realities of digital transformation across health and social care, with a focus on how technology is adopted within the NHS and related sectors. Our conversation is rooted in Paul’s reflections on a blog he wrote critiquing digital transformation. Notably, his suggestion that “digital transformation was never about digital and rarely about transformation”. We start by reflecting on the optimism of the early days of social media and digital innovation, and how initial grassroots enthusiasm sometimes lost momentum as transformation programmes became corporatised and transactional. Paul Taylor shares his experience working inside large organisations and describes how the human and relational aspects of technology were often squeezed out as efficiency and scale took priority. We discuss the challenges of designing digital services for complex, relational sectors like health, housing and social care, including the risks of borrowing private sector methodologies that may not translate well to the realities of public service. We touch on persistent issues of digital exclusion and the false assumption that these challenges will just disappear as technology advances. There is recognition of the fact that people’s digital capabilities evolve over time, but so does the technology itself, making ongoing support and thoughtful design essential. One key theme is the importance of local and place-based approaches, and how meaningful innovation very often happens at a community level, not in top-down national programmes. We talk through what gets missed when services try to scale without considering local needs, and the potential for interoperability and open-source tools to enable grassroots innovation. We end on an optimistic note: highlighting renewed interest in locality and community across sectors, as well as the role of technology in supporting these approaches. If you’re interested in honest reflections on digital transformation, lessons learned from the past decade, and practical ideas for supporting innovation in your own team or community, I think you’ll find this episode valuable. If you found this episode informative, don't forget to leave a review and share your thoughts. Thank you for tuning in! The Digital Ecology Podcast is part of the Talking HealthTech Podcast Network, your go-to audio destination for the latest in healthcare delivery, innovation, digital health, healthcare ICT, and commercialisation. Discover more at talkinghealthtech.com/podcast/network.

3. 

   3 Nov 2025

   Learning From Failure in Digital Health With Dr Sarah Crossland

   In this episode, I speak with Dr Sarah Crossland about the role of failure in digital health innovation. Sarah is a lecturer in medical engineering at the University of Hull and a practising clinician specialising in orthotics. We first met at a conference focused on human factors in digital innovation, where Sarah gave a memorable talk about failure and its importance in the innovation process. Discussing Sarah’s varied career path, starting with her undergraduate degree in physics, and how experiencing setbacks and changes in direction played a role in helping her find her current niche at the intersection of engineering and clinical care. Sharing her story of an academic project that was technically successful as a research tool but failed to have the intended clinical impact. She explains how the project underappreciated important aspects such as end-user needs, clinical workflow, and the complexities involved in translating research into practical tools for clinicians and patients. We explore common challenges in digital health innovation. We also discuss the importance of user research, early engagement with diverse stakeholder groups, and learning from critical friends, especially those outside one’s immediate discipline or speciality. Sarah reflects on lessons learned and how her approach to new projects has changed, placing greater emphasis on patient and clinician input from the outset and on robust methods for testing and simulating new ideas before rolling them out. We also touched on the cultural aspect of failure in healthcare and research, and the need for safe environments for testing, learning, and even failing. If you are interested in why so many digital technologies struggle to achieve impact, and how failure can be reframed as a source of learning, I hope you find this episode insightful. If you found this episode informative, don't forget to leave a review and share your thoughts. Thank you for tuning in! The Digital Ecology Podcast is part of the Talking HealthTech Podcast Network, your go-to audio destination for the latest in healthcare delivery, innovation, digital health, healthcare ICT, and commercialisation. Discover more at talkinghealthtech.com/podcast/network.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 22 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

20

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

60

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.