How Policy Impacts Healthtech – What Every Founder Should Know

This is essential reading for founders in healthcare and I'm so glad you get to hear this from Malte Gerhold, who is easily one of the most impressive people in healthcare policy, and huge thanks to him for coming onto the podcast. This SomX Academy lesson explains why you should care about policy as founder/enterpreneur/leader and to cut a long story short... Health is politicised in the UK. At the very least you should understand it. To be effective, you should actually be trying to influence it.

Firstly - here are the Spotify and Youtube links to the podcast if you want the longform, and I've summarised the episode below these and added specific actions for you if you're a founder or leader in healthtech...

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1. Policy as a Catalyst for System Change

Government health policies shape how the healthcare system evolves, and founders need to be paying attention to these shifts. Malte and I discussed how policies today are about more than incremental improvements—they’re focused on system-wide transformation. For instance, instead of merely aiming to reduce waiting times, policies are increasingly looking at how to fundamentally improve care delivery through technologies like AI, digital records, and telemedicine.

What this means for founders:

• Monitor government priorities closely, as they often signal emerging opportunities. Read policy reports (actually read them and not just the summaries. At least read the recommendations if not the whole thing if you really want to spot your opportunities).
• Align your innovations with these policy-driven priorities (the recommendations) to position yourself for long-term success.

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2. Lobbying Can Unlock Opportunities

One key insight from the podcast is that collective lobbying can drive policy changes, which in turn can open up new markets for innovation. Take the recent Innovate UK Women In Innovation Award. Initially, Innovate UK issued only 25 out of the 50 grants they had promised, despite receiving nearly 1,500 applications. A massive backlash from the healthtech community led to a reversal, and more grants were ultimately awarded. This shows that founders have the power to influence decisions that directly affect funding and resources.

What this means for founders:

• Engage with policy makers and lobby for supportive regulations. You can’t afford to be passive when policies can influence the success of your innovations.
• Join industry groups like TechUK or the ABHI (Association of British HealthTech Industries) which are dedicated to pushing for policies that benefit the healthtech sector. These groups provide platforms for collective advocacy, making it easier for founders to drive change.

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3. Implementation Matters as Much as Innovation

Malte made an excellent point about the importance of implementation—it’s not enough to develop a cutting-edge solution if it can’t be effectively integrated into existing systems. I've talked about adoption challenges since day one of trying to innovate on the wards with quality improvement projects and whilst we're making progress, many healthtech projects still fail, not because the technology is flawed, but because the change management process is under-resourced. Founders need to think about how their innovations will be adopted, how healthcare staff will be trained, and how patients will experience the technology. Malte talks a lot about 'fund the change not the innovation' as a concept on the podcast.

What this means for founders:

• Prioritise implementation and change management and allocate resource to it. Yes, design solutions that integrate smoothly with existing healthcare workflows, but appreciate that the road to success is littered with perfect products that failed to get adopted.
• A side-note but if you're innovating in Canada, check out the Peer Leader programme. A federal non-profit funds people (per organisation) on the ground floor whose responsibility it is to overcome barriers to innovation (support, guidance, and training to their colleagues, addressing concerns, helping to tailor the technology to better fit clinical workflows etc.).

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4. You Can Influence Policy (!)

As Malte and I discussed, policy isn’t something that happens in isolation—it can be influenced by those who understand healthcare’s operational pain points. Take AI triage as an example: a policy comes in requiring 24/7 triage support for patients in primary care. All of a sudden, an entire AI-triage market is born. Founders who are tuned into these shifts can position their products to capitalise on new regulatory requirements.

What this means for founders:

• Be aware of the policy discussions surrounding your technologies and your clinical areas
• ‍Lobby for policies that align with your tech solutions.
• By engaging with advocacy groups or participating in industry forums, you can help shape the regulatory environment to support your innovations.

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5. Thinking Long-Term: System Change vs. Optimisation

One of the most important takeaways from my conversation with Malte is that today’s healthcare system requires more than simple optimisation. Founders must be prepared to align their innovations with long-term system changes. Healthtech isn’t just about making existing processes faster or more efficient; it’s about rethinking how care is delivered, particularly as we face rising demands from chronic illnesses and an aging population.

What this means for founders:

• Innovate with the future in mind. Design solutions that contribute to the broader goals of healthcare transformation, not just immediate pain points.
• Position your solutions in line with system-wide changes being discussed by policymakers. Ensure your products remain relevant as the healthcare landscape evolves.

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Final Takeaway:

For healthtech founders, policy engagement is not optional—it’s essential. Whether it’s lobbying for inclusive funding (as we saw with Innovate UK), or ensuring that your tech solutions are implemented effectively, founders who understand how to navigate the policy landscape will have a distinct advantage. By staying informed on government priorities, advocating for necessary changes, and ensuring your technology is built for long-term transformation, you can position their companies for success.

Consider joining industry groups like TechUK or the ABHI to stay connected with key policy discussions and engaging in lobbying efforts to drive the changes we all need to support the healthtech ecosystem.

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The full podcast with Malte Gerhold from the Health Foundation is at the links above.

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Interested how this might translate to your communications strategy? Give us a shout.