Ardentia appoints Highland Marketing

Paving the way for a smoother changeover to GP consortia

Highland Marketing raises awareness of Ardentia IT solution which helps commissioners and trusts make the best decisions for patient care.

Highland Marketing has been engaged by Ardentia to raise awareness of AFA. GPs and NHS trusts alike have expressed deep worries about potential disruption from the creation of GP consortia to commission most patient care. One source of concern is whether service purchasers or providers will have ready access to the data they need to make the best decisions.

Activity Flow Analysis (AFA), a patient workflow solution from Stafford-based Ardentia, provides an advanced, affordable way to identify which patients are being referred where, and why.

AFA has been praised by health service management experts, trusts and clinicians as an effective technology for smoothing the transition from primary care trusts to GP consortia commissioning.

Gary Luke, managing director, Ardentia, said: “Replacing PCTs with GP consortia is a huge task, and the new commissioning bodies need the right data if they are to buy the best services. Likewise, trusts need to be able to see how well their services are doing against those of their competitors. Our AFA solution lets them do all this, but it’s a new product in a new market, so a lot needs to be done to give it a high profile.”

“We engaged Highland Marketing to get the message out to purchasers and providers because they have such a detailed knowledge of the sector and an excellent track record as a specialist in healthcare IT.”

AFA was developed last year but is undergoing further improvement through the introduction of Ardentia’s Cassius Vision technology. This will make the system even quicker to use, while sharper graphics will mean even better and bolder presentation of on-screen information.

Mark Venables, Highland Marketing CEO, said: “The NHS is undergoing rapid change, so it takes specialist knowledge to ensure the PR and marketing campaigns are directed at the right people.”

“We help clients like Ardentia to reach potential customers by using our extensive contacts, and a range of effective techniques to attract media coverage and generate leads by raising awareness of their products and services.”