POV - Aahuti Rai - We Don't Need More Tech, We Need to Use What We Have

Aahuti is a leading health innovation specialist in technology-enabled healthcare transformation across UK/Europe. With over 20 years' experience spanning strategy, commercialisation, and patient engagement through her business Four Points, she currently serves as Chair/NED for 8fold Governance, Venture Partner with Conduit Connect Impact Fund, and advisor to VC funds and early-stage health ventures. She also founded the Mental Health Innovation Network.

When you think about piloting new healthcare models, what approach would you take?

I would take a greenfield approach to healthcare transformation, enabling the creation of new cultures and workflows without the burden of legacy processes and protocols, much as large organisations do when launching new manufacturing plants or logistics networks. This method is more achievable than often assumed; starting with a blank slate allows for purposeful design, rather than reactive adaptation. Whether physical or virtual, the key is to build from vision, not inherit yesterday’s inefficiencies.

In manufacturing, companies pilot new product lines and produce small batches to optimise the process before scaling. This incremental rigour can translate to healthcare. Selecting a single care pathway and organising a dedicated taskforce to serve a clearly defined patient cohort, with robust governance and safety frameworks, will help ensure that results are measurable and reliable. Using outcomes and patient feedback to measure success allows the approach to be refined, before being extended to additional groups or services. Scaling should occur within this new environment, kept separate from the constraints and inertia of institutionalised systems.

While healthcare is not an assembly line and patients are individuals with unique needs, the principle of detaching from restrictive structures remains compelling. The precision demanded in manufacturing frequently exceeds typical standards in healthcare. Yet, adopting similar disciplines creates space to reimagine the delivery of care. Many objections stem from the challenge of moving beyond incremental change, but thinking outside existing norms allows us to put patient experience, safety, and agility at the centre, rather than legacy constraints. Insights from a greenfield environment can ultimately inspire and inform gradual improvements to traditional healthcare models.

What's your take on the relationship between technological advancement and healthcare improvement?
A question I often get asked is, ‘What technology are you most excited about?’ To be honest, it’s not the continual stream of technological advancements that excites me, it’s how we actually apply existing technologies to improve healthcare that matters most. There’s no real shortage of tech in the sector; if anything, much of what we already have is more sophisticated than we’re currently able to use to its full advantage.

The temptation is always there to chase the next innovation, but I believe we’d benefit from hitting the pause button and taking a step back to design solutions properly, without simply piling new tools on top of legacy systems. It takes a special kind of investor to say, ‘Enough with the new,’ and demand a proper return on the considerable funds already committed. By taking the time now to develop genuine blueprints for future care models, we can make sure technology is harnessed for its intended purpose rather than just adding another layer to a creaking structure.

Technology should be the servant, not the master; our focus must be on redesigning the delivery of care and the patient experience first, using tech as an enabler rather than the headline act. Real improvement comes when we pause to rethink, not just accelerate. This is how we ensure the investment actually delivers, and how the sector moves forward in a meaningful way.

How well do you think current healthcare solutions align with what different patient populations actually need? 

Current healthcare solutions often stem from attempts to plug gaps, but that doesn't mean they're truly addressing the underlying needs of distinct patient populations. Too frequently, solutions are designed in response to the most visible or immediate problems, rather than taking the time to step back and understand the broader context of people’s lives or the wider set of needs they’re navigating.

A prime example is women’s health. There are well-documented gaps in areas like sexual and reproductive healthcare, maternal health, and even access to preventive services. For instance, there’s been a 40% reduction in funding for sexual health services in England over the past decade, while abortion rates in older women have risen reflecting unmet needs around contraception and reproductive support. But bridging these gaps requires more than launching new services or apps. It demands that we understand the intersectional realities of women’s health i.e. how social, economic, and structural factors interact with medical needs so that new solutions are both relevant and meaningful to those they intend to serve.

In the startup sector, a lot of funding chases the largest possible market sizes, meaning solutions are often designed to appeal to the broadest group, rather than tailored to those who are most underserved. This dynamic risks unintentionally making existing inequities worse by leaving behind populations already struggling to access appropriate care. For example, startups might focus resources on generic wellness platforms, while culturally competent care for marginalised communities is overlooked despite clear evidence that targeted approaches can shrink disparities and improve outcomes.

If we’re serious about aligning healthcare solutions with patient needs, we must move away from the assumption that “one size fits all”. Instead, we should invest the time to listen and co-design with the very people we hope to help, ensuring approaches are nuanced and capable of making a real difference for every patient population.

What tensions do you see between immediate healthcare pressures and long-term transformation?

There’s a clear tension between handling immediate pressures and making space for long-term transformation, and this is why different skill sets are required. Operational leaders excel at managing day-to-day realities like waiting lists and resource constraints, but genuine innovation needs a separate team with skills in design thinking, change management, and strategic foresight. By putting the right people in the right environments, we can address urgent needs while building capacity for sustained, meaningful change in healthcare.

What perspectives might be missing from healthcare boardrooms and strategy sessions?

A critical perspective often missing from healthcare boardrooms and strategy sessions is that of future generations especially Gen Z (those born from the mid-1990s to early 2010s) - they are just beginning to enter the workforce and may currently be in roles such as junior clinicians, digital health analysts, care coordinators, or public health researchers. Many are also students in medical, nursing or allied health courses, growing up as digital natives with a nuanced understanding of technology and collaboration.

As technology continues to transform healthcare, Gen Z professionals might soon be leading telehealth teams, developing AI-driven diagnostics, or working in virtual care environments we can barely imagine today. Their expectations of seamless digital experiences, openness to new models of care, and emphasis on transparency and inclusion will set new standards for health systems.

If we truly want to build systems that serve future generations, it’s not enough to simply design for their needs, we must bring their voices into strategic conversations right now. This means more structured engagement with early-career professionals and students, inviting their feedback on new models, and co-designing solutions that reflect their values: flexibility, access, personalisation, and social responsibility. Only then can we ensure our healthcare strategies will remain relevant and resilient as the sector rapidly evolves.