This feature sees Dr Talat Uppal in conversation with women’s health leaders in a broad range of leadership positions. We hope you find this an interesting and inspiring read.

Introducing Dr Amandeep Hansra

Dr. Amandeep Hansra is the Chief Clinical Adviser (Medicine) at the Australian Digital Health Agency. She is both a GP with 18 years of experience, and a leader in digital health, entrepreneurship, and investment. Dr Hansra has served as the CEO of Telstra’s ReadyCare and was the inaugural Program Director for the Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program. She co-founded the Australian Medical Angels, one of the world’s largest syndicates of medical angel investors, and founded Creative Careers in Medicine, an organisation with 25,000 members.

Why did you choose to do medicine?

From a young age, I was drawn to a career that involved caring and nurturing. My mother was a nurse, so I was introduced to healthcare early on. Being a people person, I also wanted a job that allowed me to interact with people from diverse backgrounds.

Growing up in rural India for part of my childhood, I witnessed firsthand the impact of health inequity on communities. This experience sparked my early interest in public health and equity. By the time I began my medical degree, I knew I was in the right place. I enjoyed the practical elements of the course and quickly realised what a privilege it is to provide healthcare.

After graduating, during my junior doctor years I enjoyed every specialty I encountered, which made it difficult to choose just one to pursue. Eventually, I chose General Practice because it offered a solid foundation to explore my various interests, including women’s health.

What led you to pursue a career in digital health and tell us how this evolved with time?

I was fortunate to stumble into digital health through one of my roles. I didn’t know much about the field at first, but I was fascinated by how technology could transform healthcare access and patient outcomes. This role opened doors to the public and private sectors, working with technology providers and funders. It gave me a broader systemic perspective on healthcare that I had been missing as a frontline clinician. With this broader view, I could identify the challenges driving ongoing health inequities in Australia.

My involvement in digital health also exposed me to the startup sector, where I developed a passion for working with entrepreneurs solving significant healthcare challenges. I especially enjoyed collaborating with clinician-entrepreneurs who had experienced problems firsthand and were turning their ideas into impactful businesses. This led me to create Australian Medical Angels, an angel syndicate investing in health tech startups.

Venturing into the funding space also highlighted the inequity in funding women entrepreneurs—not just in healthcare but across all sectors. Only 2% of venture capital funding goes to women-led startups¹, which creates a significant barrier to innovation, particularly for women’s health issues. Women often develop solutions for women’s health problems, but the lack of funding limits the number and success of these businesses. This funding gap directly impacts our ability to address critical health challenges.

What excites me about digital health is that it’s an emerging but rapidly growing field”

Beyond startups, my passion for incorporating digital health into the women’s health field is driven by the potential of technology to gather better data and improve our understanding. Historically, women have been underrepresented in clinical research and trials. However, with new technology and data capture methods, we now have a chance to fill gaps in understanding how conditions affect women differently. Technology also enables us to provide more personalised care, moving away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach toward treatments tailored to the individual.

What excites me about digital health is that it’s an emerging but rapidly growing field, providing opportunities for research, advisory work, governance, innovation, and system redesign. While having so many options is exciting, it can also be overwhelming. Balancing work that I’m passionate about with life outside of work is challenging, but I’m fortunate that my current work doesn’t feel like work—it’s fulfilling. I’ve found a great niche where I can combine digital health with my clinical role in General Practice, which keeps me connected to the medical workforce and the industry.

What advice do you have for those who may want to progress a digital health interest?

One challenge for clinicians entering digital health is the lack of a clear career path. My journey into this field has been quite creative, and I feel like I stumbled upon it. For those interested in digital health, my advice would be to start by networking. There’s a vibrant community passionate about this space, and the beauty of it is the diversity of the backgrounds. You get to collaborate with people who have technical, business, project management, user design, and commercial expertise, as well as other clinicians from various specialties. The digital health community is very welcoming, and there are always people willing to help newcomers find the right opportunities.

What does the future of healthcare in Australia look like?

One of my most recent roles is Chief Clinical Advisor for the Australian Digital Health Agency. I’m passionate about this position because it allows me to work with the government on critical policies and programs to build the digital infrastructure needed for healthcare innovation. I’m also excited about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in healthcare. While AI has been around for a while, its role in improving healthcare efficiency and patient care is only now gaining momentum. I believe that in the next five to ten years, our health system will look very different, with changes that will surpass those of the past decade. I look forward to a future where healthcare is more connected, offers better access and equity, and delivers personalised care to every patient.