Revolutionizing Patient Flow in the NHS and beyond, with Gabrielle Zamagias

Speaker A: Foreign. Welcome to season five of the Women in Health Tech Show. Real stories, hard won lessons and practical advice for women building better healthcare using technology. I'm your host, Katherine Davies. Let's dive in. My guest today is Gabrielle Zamayas. Gabrielle is a global healthcare strategist and marketing leader with extensive experience in healthcare operations technology. As director of Strategic partnerships at Teletracking Technologies, she leads global marketing and go to market strategy, driving commercial growth and measurable patient impact. Previously, she led growth initiatives at humahealth and built partnerships with ministries of health and global insurers to advance connected care. Gabrielle holds executive education credentials from Columbia, Oxford and Imperial and a BA from Pepperdine University. So welcome Gabrielle, thank you so much for taking the time out of your schedule to talk to us today. I'm very grateful indeed.

Speaker B: Thank you, Katherine. I'm happy to be here.

Speaker A: So where are you joining us from today?

Speaker B: So I am joining you from New York City where I am based, which it's a chilly autumn day here.

Speaker A: Wonderful. What an amazing city to live and work. Um, I'm very jealous. It's super there.

Speaker B: Absolutely. Very dynamic.

Speaker A: Yeah. So let's start, Dan, with you telling us a little bit about your life and your career. Tell us how you've ended up doing what you're doing today.

Speaker B: So I am American though I received my British citizenship from my 10 years in the United Kingdom and I started my career in healthcare technology which is how I got to know you in the Digital Healthcare Council through my time in the United Kingdom. Um, right out of university I had a really unique opportunity to move to London to be an analyst for a US headquartered health tech company called Teletracking. At the time they were looking to expand into the UK and start working with the nhs, um, around all things hospital operations. So think patient flow, capacity management, care access. Um, as a very established US company, they had a team of at that time, four people and then, um, as I joined five to really understand the opportunity to work with the nhs, which is, um, and remains to be a very different model from the US. So most of my 13 years have been spent with teletracking in health tech, with the exception of two years that I spent with a brilliant UK headquartered tech company called Humada who focused on remote patient monitoring and digital therapeutics.

Speaker A: Wow. So what was the move to London like for you? What was your impression of London when you arrived?

Speaker B: You know, so I spent a little bit of time there growing up. Um, I would say London as a city I loved. I think personally it took Me, two years to really feel at home. Um, and after, you know, kind of after around the five year mark, I had no intention actually of relocating back to the us, but, but, um, with the work opportunity, um, it brought me, I guess, back home on this side of the pond.

Speaker A: Yes. Tell us what a, ah, typical day might be like for you at the moment then, Gabrielle.

Speaker B: Lately it's been a little chaotic. I've been on the road almost weekly in front of clients. So my role as Director of Strategic Partnerships reports directly into our Chief Executive, a, uh, brilliant man named Chris Johnson. And so a day can vary, but I would normally say I'm up quite early doing email and kind of prepping, making sure I'm aware of what's going on. Um, if I'm not on a client site, which can be across the US from Virginia to California, um, and in between, I normally like to start my day with coffee emails and then I head into calls around 9am through kind of lunchtime. I always block a minimum of three hours for the actual work, which, um, I always find it funny. We spend so much of our time on these calls and engaging with people and then you have to workload, you have to deliver, deliver on top of that. So I'm super conscious of taking time for those workflows. And then when I'm with a client, it's normally, um, planning, prepping and, um, making sure they're prepared for the implementation of our technology and what that looks like and means like for their staff.

Speaker A: Yeah. Tell us why you wanted to put your time and energy into teletracking.

Speaker B: It's actually really interesting. I had no intention, out of school of jumping into the healthcare sector. It was really. I've always believed in being kind of curious and when opportunities come up, if it resonates with you, to jump on it. So I will say this. I really fell in love with the company when I moved to London and started working with them, um, and with the nhs. When you see the problem in healthcare and from my lens around the inefficiency, and you have these brilliant caregivers, these brilliant providers doing the best that they can do with the tools they have, and when you see how much more they can do through technology, um, that's really when I fell in love. I would say it was almost a year into my time working with NHS Trust that it really clicked for me around how technology can improve health care for all, whether it's us, uk, um, and onwards.

Speaker A: Yeah. So tell us about some of the ways that teletracking Helps improve the experience for people working in the NHS and people using the nhs.

Speaker B: Yeah. So Teletracking by nature is a software and services company. I think it's important to note that over its 35 years, or rather at the start of its 35 years, it had the technology down, but what it was missing was really the nurses and the way of thinking of caregivers. So we started hiring 30 years ago, five years into the company's history, nurses and doctors. And that the CEO at the time would say this. It completely changed the trajectory of our technology. It allowed us to build almost from an end user standpoint. And with that came the outcomes that these hospitals and health systems wanted to see. So our operations platform is comprised of various solutions that address kind of end to end patient flow. So think about patients coming in, once they're in the four walls of the acute care setting, where they need to go, um, and then where they need to go at the point of ex, uh, whether that's through transfer, step down care, community health, et cetera. Um, we really touch every vertical by providing coordination, visibility and automation to the workflows for staff and patient flow.

Speaker A: It's so needed. So I've heard about some bits of the NHS where a lot of this is still done manually. So you have nurses with clipboards trying to understand what's happening with beds, whether they're free, whether they're available, and then, um, people making multiple phone calls to lots of different people within their organizations and outside their organizations to try and get patients moving. It sounds like a really complex situation to manage if you're not able to use technology to help.

Speaker B: Yes, I would agree with that. And just to kind of put a visual to that. I remember my first time M in the UK was with a trust called the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and the CEO there at the time, David Laun, is just a brilliant pioneer and so much respect for, for the team, um, when I was working with them, but I remember going to the trust and truly on a table they had a long sheet of paper and this is not just unique to the nhs, it's the US as well. And you know, they were real time, quote unquote, writing down what beds were available with pen and paper and then, you know, they go away and immediately that is either accurate or inaccurate. And so what tele tracking does, if you think of it this way, is on, on the wall, we put up almost like a massive iPad, a large T. And in real time, through a dashboard, an electronic dashboard, you can see color coded beds that are available, unavailable beds that are clean and dirty. So simply taking paper to technology can have so much impact on how these clinicians, these nurses, these care providers can deliver care to patients and simply get a patient to a bed.

Speaker A: Yeah. So needed.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: It sounds like part of your USP is around helping connect people, doing different things around an individual hospital site and around a health system. So talk to us a little bit about the importance of people coming together to work collaboratively and some of the work that you do in that partnership space.

Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. I think one thing, and I touched on it a bit earlier, but when we started to hire these caregivers within the company, we really started to build out the people process technology component. And I think it's one thing that's missed in health care technology all around, which is a lot of people think, oh, uh, we'll put the technology in and it'll work. And yes, the technology. And we talk a lot about this with the Digital Health Care Council. The technology is only one component of the bigger opportunity. And for us as a company, we've invested heavily in building up our services, the people side of it. So what typically happens is someone will look at our platform and say, okay, we want solutions 1, 2 and 3. And we say, that's great. But with it comes this team of oftentimes former nurses, and they will work with you on a defined period to ensure that the technology is embedded and that everyone within your hospital or health system is bought into the impact it can have. And that oftentimes start that we often start quite small. So simply showing them to go from paper to kind of that electronic whiteboard I mentioned is powerful visually. But then the next step is really getting them to understand that by entering in 30 seconds that this bed is clean and seeing it real time on the screen, showing that impact, um, it's really powerful. It takes time. But we send teams on site anywhere between three months to six months and ongoing to ensure that the technology is being used and they're seeing the outcomes. Um, because for a nurse, for example, what's most powerful for them is to see that they're getting more patients into a bed safely, um, and more productively. So that way they can serve more and be at the bedside more, which is really where their skill set should, um, be. Yeah.

Speaker A: So you're really speaking to the things that matter to them rather than all the bells and whistles of the technology per se. And then when you have partnerships with organizations outside the trust, does that raise particular challenges where you have people Working together from different organizations.

Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. We've tried different models over the years without outside partnerships, whether that be with consulting groups to help us supplement the people side of things. Um, I would say this. Over our 35 years, we are now very cautious and conscious when we enter into a partnership. Um, and just to give you an example, you may recall the AI frenzy a few years ago in healthcare, where it seemed like every health tech company was overnight saying, we're an AI company. And interestingly enough, teletracking remained really quiet on the AI front and for the market, it may have seemed like we were behind, but in fact, it was a very intentional decision from our CEO and the leadership team, because we were waiting to understand how we could best play, how we could best leverage AI for us and for our customers. And as a large and really strong foothold in the market, we were very aware that when we did come out and say we would have an AI strategy, it had to be the right one and backed by, uh, you know, backed by something concrete. So, all of that being said, in June 2025 this year, we announced a partnership with Palantir Technologies. Palantir is a US software company. They have an amazing platform around data, uh, integration, analytics and decision making. And that was a partnership that I was very much a part of from day one in terms of nurturing, making sure that Palantir could really complement what we've been building over our 35 years. And I think to make a partnership successful, both leadership teams have got to be on the same page and understand one another's vision. And a little tension from time to time is good, but you have to be willing to sit down at the same table and talk through it. And thus far, now, over six months in, we are so excited with what we're bringing to the market with Palantir over the next few months, which is AI enablements on our platform. That is, I'm really proud to say, kind of tried and tested over its 35 years.

Speaker A: Yeah. And is that something that will be available in the uk, Gabrielle? Yes.

Speaker B: Yes. So in the uk, Palantir has a very strategic partnership with the nhs, um, via their federated data platform, the fdp. And we have, over the past few months, been working very closely with the FDP team in the uk, um, on bringing these solutions to NHS trusts, which is brilliant.

Speaker A: So where do you see this going, then? What do you think is the. What are some of the best possibilities that are created through this partnership and this way of working genuinely?

Speaker B: I had a demo the other day to see where we're moving and I couldn't be more excited. So I would look at it in phases. So phase one is really bringing our existing solutions over to Palantir's platform and adding AI, uh, capabilities to that. So if you think about right now, for example, just being able to show a nurse these beds are available, what we're able to do with Palantir is to show not only these beds are available, but we're able to look forward, leveraging AI and leveraging data in our platform to show, you know, these beds are available now, but in the next 5 hours, 10 hours, 24 hours, you should start thinking about this wave of these wave of beds and these assets that might be required based on the patients in your waiting room. So it really is going to allow our platform, tele tracking platform to be more forward looking. And at the end of the day we always say this, everything will be AI enabled but clinically decided. So we are not looking to make automated answers for the caregivers, but we want to give them the best information for planning, um, so they can ultimately make the best decision for their patients and for their, for their teams.

Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's one of the really interesting opportunities from AI is to actually intelligently use a lot of the data that we've been collecting for so long to help us understand what we need to do going forward and to move to a more proactive way of managing systems.

Speaker B: Right, Absolutely, absolutely. And I think, uh, what's very interesting with the NHS is you have these pockets of innovation. You really. I found this over my 10 years working with trust. There are so many innovative individuals in the nhs. Where there is an opportunity I think is to really scale and sustain. Um, and we've already identified via our existing partnerships with trust, several pioneering executives that are excited about, um, piloting and leveraging, you know, the Tele and Palantir partnership. So we're very excited about what's going to come for the UK market.

Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. Wow. Well, I look forward to following those developments. That's going to be really, really interesting. Scaling in the NHS needs more than a great product. It takes policy, insight, credibility and the right rooms. The Digital Healthcare Council brings Digital first providers together with NHS leaders so members can help shape the agenda and turn proven success into system wide adoption. If that's your next step, uh, look up the digital healthcare account all. So that leads me quite nicely into my next question which is about your expectations of partnering with the nhs. So when you first started working here, did you have expectations around what it would be like. How did you feel going into that?

Speaker B: So I think I would be lying if I said I didn't have expectations. I always try and go into things open minded, but obviously, as I prepped for my role at the time, which was a data analyst, and I really got ready, I was under the impression, which may make you laugh, that the NHS was one system, it was very much cohesive, everyone talked to one another. It was a very different model from what I was aware of in the us. And very quickly I learned that the NHS is actually quite fragmented. Um, I hope that's not a negative statement, but it really does operate in silos. And every trust, though the challenges are the same, operates quite independently of one another. So that was one big lesson I learned early on. I, um, also will say that our approach when we went into the market was to identify one to two trusts that would really be our lighthouse. So we didn't come in as often. I find us companies do and think we need the whole market right away, kind of guns blazing. We really were intentional and thoughtful about identifying the right CEOs of trust that were willing to take a risk on us as we entered the market and us invest in the market. And so we did that. And it was a slow growth, but it was absolutely the right decision to maintain, um, our relationship and also to focus on outcomes with fewer trusts that then became lighthouses. And an example of that today is Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. Under the brilliant Miles Scott, who I couldn't speak more highly of, uh, the team there has really adopted our technology and they always challenge us to be better and to focus on the outcomes that they need to drive for their community.

Speaker A: Yeah. It's so kind of you to call out the good work of chief execs that you have partnered with, because those relationships and the efforts of individual leaders really make all the difference in terms of embedding technology and not just getting it in, but actually keeping it there and getting all the advantages out of it so that people, um, and staff can benefit. Right? Yes.

Speaker B: It's what the relationship component of the NHS specifically I'm really proud of as an individual, as someone who really started her career there and built her relationships there. But from a company perspective as well, um, the NHS is very small and the last thing you want to do is not be sincere and not be willing to take feedback. And what was a US company for so many decades to adjust and assimilate to the UK culture, that takes a willingness to learn absolutely yeah.

Speaker A: So well done on your efforts on that front. I think you've managed that really well.

Speaker B: Thank you. We're proud of it.

Speaker A: Yeah. So let's talk, um, a little bit more then, about your own personal professional experiences. Gabrielle, when and where have you been happiest?

Speaker B: I love that question. For me, I would say happiness is a state of mind. I really like to think I can be happy anywhere. Um, but if we needed to get specific, I would say it would be that 7:30am M in Hyde Park. When I lived in London, I have a dog, so I would always get there just before kind of workflows. Um, and there's something really calming for me to be in nature. And in London, you have access to so much which in a city like New York, I miss.

Speaker A: Oh, that's lovely. I can just imagine you with your dog first thing in the morning, wandering through beautiful Hyde Park. It's lovely there.

Speaker B: It was, um, very peaceful, for sure.

Speaker A: And what's your current state of mind?

Speaker B: So, uh, I guess if you take it twofold. Well, personally and professionally, I'm very optimistic. I think personally living in a city like, like New York, it is so dynamic and you have access to so many different outlets for creativity. There's always something going on. So from that perspective. Absolutely. And then professionally, I've never been as excited about what we are doing, what I'm doing in my role, what the company is doing as we think about the next generation of our platform. And so I couldn't be more excited and as we've gotten over the past few months to talk with clients both in the UK as well as the us Canada, um, and even parts, um, of the Middle East. We are seeing such a demand for proven solutions, um, but with AI capabilities. And so I couldn't be more excited about the partnership that we've entered into, um, and what that's going to mean for our customers, existing and new. So very excited.

Speaker A: Yeah, it's such an amazing time. On the one hand, health systems around the world are so incredibly challenged by, um, the demands that they're experiencing from people who need care and support. But I feel, especially in the uk, we really are transitioning into a new sort of environment as a result of those challenges where the best technologies and the best clinical minds and the best leaders have an opportunity to come together and to really come up with solutions to the challenges that we're facing. And, um, I'm also an optimist. You have to believe it's possible to solve these problems. Otherwise probably you should go and do something else. So I think it's a privilege to be working in health care in such an incredible time.

Speaker B: I would absolutely agree. I think it is a privilege, I think, for the. I won't say for the first time, because this has been an opportunity for the nhs, but now more than ever, they have to do more with less. And so I think you're seeing a true forcing in a positive way of what I mentioned, which is the scaling of innovation that is proven and sustaining it. So I am very optimistic with the uk. I think there has never been a better time for the NHS to really work in a very synchronized way to solve some of their challenges.

Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. And I think a positive thing is there are so many solutions out there. The solutions exist. It's not that we don't know what the solutions solutions are, we do know what they are. The challenge is around scaling, as you say, and doing more of what's already working. And that's why companies like yours are so important, because with a great track record, people can have confidence that you guys can really help you know what you're doing and the solutions are there for the taking. So I feel that's a good situation for people to be in.

Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. Um, and I think you see now more than ever, or what we're seeing, I should say now more than ever, is that a lot of these hospitals, they actually, they really want less. You know, I think there was a frenzy of let's work with all of these different technologies. And what we're certainly hearing is we actually just want really strong, proven solutions that, uh, integrate well but fewer. So we remain really, um, excited about, about just being one of those solutions, quite honestly, but also working with and integrating with EMRs that, uh, want to. Information back and forth and just these, these different companies that are really quite strong at what they do and are willing to integrate and share communication, which at the end of the day benefits the caregiver, which is the most important, you know, the most important thing for technology.

Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. That integration piece is absolutely crucial, isn't it? So tell us a little bit about contacts and networks. Clearly, you've worked hard on your relationships with your customers in the uk, in the US and elsewhere in general. Have networks been important for you and have they happened spontaneously or have you developed your networks intentionally?

Speaker B: So, for me, relationships are everything. Um, absolutely. I would say that, funny enough, a lot of them happen spontaneously, but then you nurture them and they become quite intentional. Um, I'm a really big believer in less is more So I really focus on the relationships that, um, really matter to me. And I've been very fortunate. I started in this space quite young, right out of university, and I've been really fortunate to have incredible role models and mentors, male and female, who I've really learned a lot from. Um, a simple example is the CEO of my first trust in the uk. And I just really invested in that relationship and learning, because of my role as an analyst at the time, to really learn from him. And it was one of the biggest gifts. I learned more in my first year around the nhs, um, just by observing and building that relationship.

Speaker A: Yeah. And do you have any advice for people at an earlier stage in their career about how they can go about developing a network that's going to be beneficial?

Speaker B: I would say one thing I did, which, uh, it certainly worked for me was I was always curious, but I always listened first. And so I never was the first to kind of voice my opinion, which I think perhaps that was being young and lacking confidence, but I really was always curious and I always started by listening. Um, so moving over to the uk, having not worked in the NHS my first year there as an analyst, I really just sat back and observed in addition to my work. But I really listened when these executives talked about. And when I had a question, I would ask it, but I really focused on the listening component. Um, and then as I've grown in my career and my confidence came with that and my curiosity remained, I now kind of tag team both curiosity and confidence. But certainly listening has always been a foundation for me.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's such a great thought, because I think sometimes people are discouraged because they feel they don't have enough knowledge and they don't feel confident in themselves to actually reach out and connect with other people. But if you think about, um, connecting with people who you can learn from and who you can listen to, it kind of takes the pressure off a little bit, because all you're requiring yourself to do is just put yourself in that space and to ask interesting questions and have an open mind and listen? Absolutely.

Speaker B: And I think, um, by listening and then asking, you gain the respect of your audience. I think oftentimes, you know, we have this culture where you kind of want to raise your hand and just share what you think, what you know. And I do think there's a lot of beauty and a lot of, um, a lot of peace that comes with. With truly just sitting back and when something comes up asking, but not. But not just jumping on it because you feel like you have to contribute?

Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So, Gabrielle, do you ever find yourself being the only woman in the room? And if you do, how does that impact you?

Speaker B: I do, I do. Quite honestly, yes. I think in health care, I will say a lot of the executives who I with, especially starting out, were men. You know, I never looked at it as a bad thing. I always kind of viewed it as, what can I learn from these people? And I will say I think that served me well. Um, I didn't get caught up in this is a male, this is a female. I always really tried to stay in my lane. Um, and I grew up very much with the mentality of always be hungry, always be curious, always be learning. It was, it was truly just how I was raised. So I kind of brought that to work. But I'm happy to say I've been seeing over my 10 plus years, a lot more females come into higher level roles in the health tech space outside of hospitals and health systems. I've also seen some and been surrounded by amazing female founders. And um, of course, I'm beyond excited to see that. Um, I think it speaks to, it speaks to innovation. I think it speaks to society, uh, you know, being more accepting, being more open. For sure.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Thank you for sharing that. I wonder if you might share the best advice that you've ever been given.

Speaker B: The best advice that I've ever been given, um, actually came when I was probably four or five years old, from my father to my siblings, and it was to wake up hungry. Um, and I mentioned that before, but it was the idea that you should always wake up not knowing where your next meal will come from. So to really wake up and focus on what is in front of you and where you can drive value, um, and what you can bring back home, but bring back to yourself. And I'm really proud to say I think it's embedded in my siblings and myself, but it's certainly how I invest my energy and time personally and professionally.

Speaker A: I love that. That's wonderful. So, um, if people are listening to this podcast and they would like to reach out to you, we'll add your details to the show notes. Is that the best way to do it?

Speaker B: That's wonderful. I'm reachable and I'd love to connect.

Speaker A: Great. Well, look, thank you so much for talking to us today. It's been wonderful to hear about your career path and to hear about the work that teletracking is doing as well as the exciting AI, uh, partnerships that you're developing. I really can't wait to see how this all plays out. Thank you so much for joining me.

Speaker B: Thank you. Katherine.

Speaker A: Thanks for listening to the Women in Health tech show. If this sparked ideas, hit follow, leave a quick review and send the episode to a founder or operator who'd benefit. I'm Catherine Davis. Until next time.