Smart health tech provider Alcidion is seeing rapid growth in the UK following the formal launch of its flagship platform, Miya Precision. That’s in part due to a bold communications campaign says Lynette Ousby, Alcidion’s UK managing director, who explains how the team at Highland Marketing worked as ‘an extension to the business’ to help Alcidion create new market opportunities.
When global smart health tech company Alcidion wanted to expand its UK footprint with its flagship product Miya Precision, it needed to communicate the impact that a new type of technology could deliver.
The modern platform, which automates manual processes and patient flow whilst proactively engaging clinicians with pertinent information and decision support, sits at the core of the company’s ecosystem offer to the NHS.
Alcidion had already enjoyed success with the platform in Australia and New Zealand, where it had complemented large electronic medical record deployments and participated in the evolution of healthcare systems.
But in the UK, Alcidion had been best known for its Patientrack e-observations and early warning system.
A formal launch, followed by big wins
With the help of Highland Marketing, Miya Precision was formally launched in the UK in the summer of 2020 as the first smart clinical asset for the NHS. It could complement electronic patient record strategies, as it had in Australia, but also provide an ‘orchestration layer’ for integrated care systems and best-of-breed approaches using intelligent technology to alleviate cognitive burden for frontline clinicians.
This opportunity is now being realised: “The UK has become one of the largest areas of growth for Alcidion, and that’s because we identified a gap in the market and pursued it with focus,” says Lynette Ousby, the company’s UK managing director.
The formal launch campaign included a mix of targeted messaging communicated through media engagement, thought leadership and customer advocacy. Focussed virtual events were utilised to stimulate debate and promote new ideas about digitalisation options available to the NHS.
Subsequently, just months later, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust selected Miya Precision in Alcidion’s largest ever contract for the platform.
Several other contracts were signed for Alcidion products across the health service – including Smartpage, the clinical messaging system that replaces the need for pagers and enables task management capabilities. Subsequently, there was an important procurement of the Patientrack product by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust as part of its Cerner Millennium EPR programme.
Continuing market excitement
Market excitement continues to grow for Alcidion, with prospective customer conversations continuing. Aspects of national digital and data health policy have also echoed ideas and messages generated during the launch campaign.
“The market saw a confident Australian business in the UK market, with a strength of proven successes in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and a relevant product to help modernise and advance digital strategies in the NHS,” says Ousby.
Ousby now believes that the market is “moving towards the modular and flexible model we have been promoting”.
“This is one of the most enjoyable moments of my career,” she says. “We are ahead because we found our position and seized the opportunity.”
A trusted partner
Ousby speaks fondly of the Highland team that has worked closely to help Alcidion identify and respond to a gap in the market. “The team at Highland feels like an extension of my business and has become a core part of the plan,” she says. “Highland is our partner of choice and has played an integral part of the last 15 months.”
And the relationship is about “a lot more than public relations activities”, she says. “We are working with a trusted advisor. We have released some disruptive and bold communications – and Highland has been a steady ship seeing us through, even reacting over the weekend. The team has been right by our side.”
Tom Scott, Alcidion’s sales director in the UK, echoes Ousby’s sentiments. “The team adds good editorial sense to our thoughts and never fails to deliver on that,” he says.
“There is a cross-over of technical, clinical, business logic and supplier audiences that our messages need to address. One of the real values is how Highland crosses over all those things, with a grounding in thinking about who we are trying to reach and the messages that make sense to them.”
“We can pick the phone up during unsociable hours and have valuable conversations with people who know us well,” he adds. And he says “honesty and transparency” is important. “The Highland team tells us where they don’t agree, which is really important. It doesn’t feel like a supplier relationship; it feels like Highland is part of our team.”
Scott also adds that access to Highland Marketing’s network is making a difference in enabling new conversations.
Close working
The relationship has been equally enjoyed by the team at Highland Marketing, who have seen the impact and potential of Alcidion’s systems when talking to the company’s customers.
Mark Venables, Highland Marketing’s CEO, said: “This is already a great success story and I suspect what has been achieved is only the first chapter. Alcidion is a technology provider that has put intelligence and foresight behind something its leaders believe in. We are very fortunate to have been able to support the campaign. It’s great to see Alcidion’s success and to have played a part in that.”
