Talking digital health

In part two of our FemHealth Focus miniseries, Sophie and Charlotte are joined by Claire Edwards (Alvarez) and Ally Vey (Phoenix Equity), two leaders with extensive experience supporting and investing in growth businesses across the healthcare and life sciences sectors.

This miniseries explores the barriers and opportunities shaping the future of women's health. In this episode, the discussion focuses on investment and business support, examining how women's health and the femtech sector are evolving, whether investment activity is keeping pace with market opportunities, and what is needed to unlock the next phase of growth.

For more information, read out recent FemHealth Focus series of reports: FemHealth Focus | Mills & Reeve

We're back after the Summer break with our new FemHealth Focus miniseries.

Over the next three episodes, Sophie and Charlotte take a look at the key issues in women's healthcare, following on from our series of reports. They'll be discussing the glaring health inequalities, barriers to better health outcomes, and where there is immense potential for the sector.

Part one of the FemHealth Focus miniseries focuses on policy, strategy and innovation. Sophie and Charlotte are joined by MaryAnn Ferreux, Chief Medical Officer at Health Innovation Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and Aamena Salar, GP with specialist interest in women's health. 

They explore how technology, digital health and femtech can help address the long-standing gender health gap and improve outcomes for women across the UK.

Read our FemHealth Focus reports: FemHealth Focus | Mills & Reeve

In episode 23 of Talking digital health, hosts Sophie and Charlotte record live from HLTH Europe in Amsterdam to unpack the UK Health Modernisation Bill and gather reactions from healthtech suppliers. 

They discuss likely short-term disruption but possible longer-term simplification of procurement and contracting, and advise SMEs to focus on pathway-based, partnership-led solutions as the NHS struggles with volumes of point products. 

A variety of guests highlight priorities including scaling neighbourhood mental health capabilities, ensuring SPR includes health and care data from multiple suppliers, adopting open standards and properly funding implementation, missing HDRS data powers, and improving innovation adoption at scale.

Sophie and Charlotte sit down with colleague Katrina Anderson, a regulatory lawyer at Mills & Reeve, to talk about consumer protection, advertising and marketing law and how it affects healthtech businesses selling direct to consumers. 

Katrina explains consumer regulatory law’s role in addressing bargaining power imbalances and why most patients/customers will be legally classed as consumers.

Charlotte Lewis quizzes co-host and IP law expert Sophie Burton-Jones to demystify intellectual property for digital health innovators.

They break down IP rights, NHS guidance, and more to help you navigate the digital health landscape. Discover why understanding and protecting your IP is crucial to avoid accidental disclosure, ownership disputes, and investment due diligence issues.

Listen to this podcast from Mills & Reeve as our experts break down IP rights, NHS guidance, and more to help you navigate the digital health landscape.

Neurodiversity Week took place last week (March 16-22, 2026). To mark the occasion, Sophie and Charlotte explore how neurodivergence affects the way digital health tools are used in busy NHS settings. 


Speaking with Band 7 Resuscitation Officer Matt Taiano, they discuss why user‑centred design, accessibility and inclusive implementation are critical to adoption. They talk patient safety and equity, and why digital tools need to work for everyone, especially in high‑pressure clinical environments.

Sophie and Charlotte are joined by Heather Cook, a system leader shaping access, prevention and innovation at Scale, and member of the Tech UK Health and Social Care Council.

They discuss the key milestones in Heather's career in digital health, from leading global technology information proframmes to scaling high impact digital health businesses.

We're back for 2026, exploring more key topics for those procuring technology in the NHS and those selling tech into the NHS.

This month, Sophie and Charlotte are joined by their colleague Amanda Narkiewicz, healthcare regulatory partner at Mills & Reeve, and Lucy Buckley, founder of the Digital Health Assurance Company. They discuss whether or not tech and digital health providers are subject to CQC regulation.

Welcome back to our 2025 roundup where Sophie and Charlotte are looking back over their favourite moments of the year.

This episode focuses on selling to the NHS, with advice on:

• Compliance
• Medical device regulations and recent changes
• Getting your terms ready for the UK regulatory landscape
• Bidding for NHS contracts
• NHS pilots

We hope you've enjoyed Talking digital health. We will be returning next year with even more exciting guests to discuss key topics of interest to those procuring tech in the NHS and those selling tech to the NHS.

Sophie and Charlotte look back over their first year of Talking digital health by picking their favourite episodes.

They'll provide clips on the best advice they received in their NHS digital transformation series, including:

• The role of clinicians in digital transformation projects
• Getting ready for re-procurement
• Stakeholder engagement
• Supplier relationship management
• Lessons learned from and digital wards programme
• Compliance, security and assurance

Tune in for part 1. In part 2 next week, we'll be looking over highlights for our selling to the NHS topics.