The GP Shortage Problem... | Julian Titz, CEO of Asterix Health

This week on HealthTech Hour, Steve sits down with Julian Titz, Co-founder and CEO of Asterix Health, who is helping solve one of the most acute structural problems facing UK primary care - the shortage of qualified GPs. After six years building in early-stage technology across PropTech, fintech and telco, Julian took time out and accessed preventative care that uncovered a serious heart valve condition. That personal experience reframed his thinking about what really matters, and he went on to co-found Asterix Health at Entrepreneur First while waiting for open heart surgery - alongside co-founder Max Thilo, who had recently been treated for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Julian is particularly passionate about workforce as the bottleneck the UK healthcare system has under-invested in, and we get into what that looks like in practice - how Asterix embeds UK-registered GMC doctors working from abroad into NHS surgeries, why the model frees up one full GP session per practice every day, and how it became the first approved provider under the new NHS rules endorsed by the 10-Year Health Plan. We also explore why workforce has seen so little innovation in decades, what the UK tech ecosystem gets right, and why incentives, not technology - are the real lever for change in healthcare. Asterix is now serving practices with 250,000 patients, has onboarded 150+ doctors, and recently closed £2.1 million in pre-seed funding led by Triple Point with backing from Entrepreneurs First. Outside of work, Julian splits his time between London and Germany, having grown up across both countries. A grounded, practical conversation with one of the youngest founders building seriously at the heart of the NHS workforce crisis. Follow HealthTech Hour for more conversations with the founders, operators and builders shaping the future of UK health and tech. HealthTech Hour Socials: https://linktr.ee/healthtechhour?utm_... 00:00 The Future of Healthcare 03:36 Julian's heart valve diagnosis and the move into healthcare 07:00 Why workforce is the biggest problem in healthcare 09:31 The 50,000 GP shortage and why doctors are leaving 12:55 The NHS 10-Year Plan endorsement 24:50 Building incentives that align with how the NHS actually works 36:00 Where the UK tech ecosystem wins