Eight things healthtech talks about that the NHS doesn't actually care about
Liam Cahill
I help NHS orgs embrace digital & innovate ? I help healthtech fit the NHS. National advisor. Social enterprise advocate, founder & non-exec. I write about #digitalhealth on LinkedIn.
This is a republication of an article I wrote for Datalla Group's 'The Future Health' a month ago. I'm reposting here for both posterity, because I have a stinking head cold and don't feel like writing, and because THE BIG article I'm whopping out next needs to wait a week.
Around 4 years ago I sat down with a now well known healthtech company, (but then in their early stages), that I was mentoring. The topic of that day was around narrative, and generating interest from the NHS.
Naturally we talked through existing relationships, and then moved to how they were working to get eyes on.
The founder told me that they were very active on LinkedIn and were regularly posting and, with the support of a PR company, had a bit of a campaign going.
I'm going to interrupt this fascinating trip down memory lane, to point out that I fully appreciate and understand that healthtech companies have more than one beast they need to feed, and that investor attention is very important. I totally get that.
Back to the story - we had a bit of a 'wee lookie' through what they felt were the most relevant posts, and I was shown the engagement levels (likes, comments etc.) and so on. The founder looked very pleased with their efforts.
Internally I was considering how to sensitively put a pin in their efforts without seeming like a mean shit.
But I had to because there was a problem: they were putting their energy into a platform that their NHS customer didn't really use (it's now much better in 2024), and mostly talking about things that doesn't remotely (or in a few cases doesn't particularly) interest their customer. The high levels of engagement were staff, friends, other healthtech companies, and VC folks. I couldn't find one single NHS person liking any of their posts.
In short their engagement strategy was a fart in the woods, and one that NHS people wouldn't want to sniff.
In the years since, I have seen many healthtech companies put huge amounts of energy into the wrong things, and in the wrong places. I've seen presentations to the NHS with loads of investor deck content, and extra fluff in customer facing materials that yield nothing.
So what are the wrong things?
The NHS doesn't really care about:
Before I outline these, there are some that they rarely care about, some that they barely care about, some that will actively piss them off or make them write you off, and a bunch of caveats (largely when the story is genuinely NHS relevant).
ONE - How much you've raised.
They just don't care about your raising £1 million, the only thing it tells them is you've convinced someone not in the NHS that you're going to sell to the NHS. For most in the system they have very few points of reference on whether raising a million is good or not.
I'll go a step further. It may even work against you because many staff in the NHS are not particularly keen on the privatisation of the NHS, or NHS activities, and showing a bunch of venture capital firms screams - "we have people behind us who want to milk you like daisy the cow". Moo.
TWO - The credibility of your investors
It's great that the big names in investment have chosen you, and of course it carries weight when seeking other investors.
But see point one. Same applies.
THREE - Your founder story and credentials
OK if you're a clinician or former NHS employee who translated your experience of seeing an operational problem to try and solve it, then they will definitely care, because it's relevant.
Similarly if, for example, you were consulting and saw an issue in your work that nobody was solving, that might be a decent story to validate you're solving a problem. But again this is more about context and experience than who you worked for. Don't expect them to say 'wow' when you mention your time at Apple, or the previous successful business you had.
But realistically the fact that you've worked for names in tech, or Deloitte, in the private sector, doesn't really cut much mustard. Instead your time is much better spent on your experience with the system, if you have some, as a patient, carer, parent of patient.
Unless like my patient story that once went to the GP, I've done my Health Check, and I once broke my elbow. That would just be tenuous now.
FOUR - What startup accelerator you were on
Zinc VC, AWS Accelerator, Google, YC, Microsoft etc. they rarely care, and it may go against you.
HIN (AHSN) accelerators most barely care, although in London DHL should carry a little weight.
National Innovation Accelerator and NHS Clinical Entrepreneur programme - more so, as they'll be better known and are nationally endorsed. If you're on one of those then it's net positive, but just don't expect them to swoon. They won't.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't put the last 2 groups in presentations if you have nothing better, just don't expect it to make much of a different in your influence and credibility.
FIVE - Industry 'best healthtech' (etc.) awards that you've won
There are a lot of awards out there, especially those where you either basically pay for it, or get everyone you know to vote for you to win 'best Shoreditch startup - health category'. Tell your prospective investors, not the NHS.
But in the grey area things like 'ReWired 23 Pitchfest - Winner' might provoke a degree of ambivalence, but little beyond that.
There are very few awards that people in the NHS care about, which is a shame as more credible awards would be helpful. I was involved in creating one for the commissioner meds community and if you get the right one then it's powerful.
But realistically there are two three things that will actually generate interest:
领英推荐
Yes, you read that correctly. You will never be more influential than (e.g.) Cambridge University Hospitals FT, who immediately creates interest and recognition. NHS organisations are much more receptive to peers than digital providers 100 times out of 100.
INTERLUDE
The show will resume shortly, but you may rightly see the repetition in the previous five points. The NHS cares about the NHS, not the private sector. This may feel obvious, but if it's that obvious why do I see it so often?
I get it, having that 'Our Partners' slide that has very little on it looks good, but instead, perhaps the bigger question is... why would we need a partners slide if it just fills in a space that didn't need to be filled.
As we return to the last three points, you may feel that some of these are surprising or even contentious, but I promise they are largely true.
SIX - Private sector, employer activities and gen pop user activity you've done
Right now many healthtech companies are having to gain ground and traction outside the NHS, in order to keep the wheels turning. The NHS is hard and it takes time, and investors are not known for their patience.
Whilst in the UK I have big reservations around how viable private health, employers, and direct to the (paying) citizen is, because of the dominance of the NHS (another story for another time)...
... this article is about what staff in the NHS care about, and as we've covered above, they care about the NHS. You may garner some mild interest and attention around your current users and how many people are paying for the app, or even that BMW have brought you in to offer as a staff perk.
But it won't remotely be enough to get you commissioned.
I would go as far as saying that even being bought by Bupa is not going to be considered equivalent to a (non-paying) NHS pilot. It's just how the NHS is.
Many healthtech companies have told me that they're going to build up in [e.g. workplaces] and then use that to gain traction in the NHS. To which I can only advise "fine if there are good reasons for this, but don't expect this to carry much weight with the NHS".
SEVEN - Your activities in other countries (unless it's genuinely impressive)
This one genuinely annoys me, and I do not attribute this to the fault of any healthtech company, but instead the insular nature of the NHS, and this mistaken assumption that the NHS is so unique.
It is unique, of course, as are most care systems, but health conditions are often less so - there is no German Diabetes and British Diabetes.
Actually fun fact, Diabetes in German is... drumroll... Diabetes. Point duly made.
So, if you've scaled across Germany, Australia or Sweden then that should genuinely carry weight with the NHS, and yes, then be considered for adaptation and integration. Sadly whilst it does carry a little weight, many international companies can feel like they're starting all over again with the NHS, and of course we've seen a few very recent; very real examples of credible, established Scandinavian countries exit the UK because of the work required to gain momentum.
Sorry.
EIGHT - Big statements about disrupting, revolutionising or changing the face of healthcare
Finally, a point that I'm going to pin up as a bugbear, and throw squarely at the feet of healthtech companies: big grandiose statements about disrupting, revolutionising or changing the face of healthcare.
Maybe it gets investors all hot under the collar (although since so many startups do it I highly doubt it), but your big vision is largely going to work against you. They may care about you saying it, but more in the way someone cares when you've pissed them off.
You see the NHS operates in nuance, and complexity, and interconnection, and safety, and avoiding risk. So big sweeping statements do absolutely nothing for your credibility with someone in the NHS. It's not just alien terminology, it suggests that you do not understand the inherent nuance, complexity, interconnection, safety and risk, and that you are yourself a risk.
You don't want to be a risk, you want to assure and mitigate risk. So change your language for the healthcare system audience.
SUM
When you're dealing with overburdened health systems like the NHS, opportunities are hard won and easily lost.
When you're building a healthtech (or other supplying) company, there is so much you need to get right.
But for me, one of the most critical factors is meeting these systems or providers where they are, showing you understand with them, and fit with them, that you belong as part of their own ecosystem.
So quite simply, don't want time telling them about things that drive ambivalence and irritation. Tell them things that matter to them.
Thanks
A big thanks to Kevin for this kind cameo in The Future Health. Do check out the newsletter which has loads of valuable reads to keep you in the know.
Now third person Liam speak
----------------------------
Liam Cahill is a trusted adviser to frontline providers and national bodies on all things digital, with nearly two decades experience of doing tech stuff in the NHS. He has mentored and advised some of the best known names in Healthtech, and they've usually said some nice things about his work . He regularly posts content, ideas and advice on LinkedIn. Check out his other numerous articles and videos here , and subscribe to his LinkedIn newsletter here .
Navigating conversations, especially in healthtech, can indeed feel like a dance, one that needs just the right rhythm and confidence! ???? Steve Jobs once said - The only way to do great work is to love what you do. So, channel that passion into your discussions with the NHS, and you might just find the perfect rhythm. Keep pushing innovative ideas forward, and we can't wait to read about healthtech and ping pong! ????
B2B Marketing Strategy | Demand Generation | SaaS Marketing
8 个月Very true, although I think the same guidance should apply across multiple sectors. The ‘let me tell you about me, what do you think about me’ conversations should be loooong gone!
Global Health Doctor and Researcher | CEO at Abtrace
8 个月Agree with all of this. But waiting for the follow-up... 8 things they actually do care about??
CEO | A Healthier Democracy | Physician
8 个月Well shared Liam Cahill ???? Your candid and humorous comparison between healthtech companies' communication challenges with the NHS and personal adolescent awkwardness is both entertaining and insightful. It's a creative way to highlight the importance of meaningful dialogue in the healthtech sector.
PowerPoint Presentation Design Agency ??Since 2016?? 500+ clients worldwide??Inhouse team of presentation designers??English - German -French- Spanish [email protected]
8 个月Can't wait to read your next big post on healthtech and ping pong!