Investing in AI - 2026 and beyond
Medica has unveiled its AI roadmap, highlighting a strategic approach to revolutionising healthcare through augmented intelligence. The roadmap focuses on internal efficiency and clinical advancements to enhance patient outcomes and streamline operations. In an increasingly busy teleradiology market, Medica’s investment and positioning in AI makes Medica a strong partnership choice for NHS Trusts.
The AI-drive enhancements aim to improve clinical outcomes, support reporters, optimise data management and improve billing processes. Our key areas of focus include:
- AI-assisted diagnostics: Advanced tools to detect conditions including stroke, cancer, fracture, and pulmonary embolism
- AI powered triage: Prioritising urgent cases
- Enhanced reporting accuracy: AI safety nets to support reporters in identifying critical findings through smart reporting
- Value add: enhancing Medica’s service offering for the benefit of clients
The road ahead
To ensure the successful implementation of this ambitious AI strategy, Medica has outlined key next steps, including:
- Refreshing case mix data to optimise resource allocation
- Enhancing data collection processes for improved segmentation and analysis
- Developing performance benchmarks to assess and compare efficiency across multiple sites
- Showcasing AI’s impact in procurement discussions to drive adoption
Medica’s AI roadmap indicates a shift in healthcare, utilising augmented intelligence to improve patient outcomes and streamline operations. With advancements in AI and significant investment, Medica aims to support NHS Trusts as they address the increasing demands on their departments.
Seven key initiatives live or being tested in 2026
AI for large vessel occlusion detection in stroke: revolutionising stroke diagnostics
Pulmonary embolism identification: Improving rapid detection of acute and incidental pulmonary embolus
Advanced analytic tools: Automating exam categorisation to boost workflow efficiency
Fracture detection: AI detection of fractures in X-ray
Cervical spine fracture detection: improved detection and reporting of CT detected cervical spine fracture to help prioritise time sensitive cases
CXR analysis: An AI tool to assist in detection of multiple findings
An AI platform: Allowing testing and comparison of multiple tools, whilst monitoring performance and standardising the outputs for our 750+ reporters
How is Medica integrating AI workflows?
In March 2020, we announced a strategic partnership with Qure.ai, to work together on the deployment of AI as a tool for service improvement and to support the reporting process.
The partnership uses one distinct algorithm:
qER: A decision support tool to analyse non contrast studies, flagging up possible abnormalities allowing prioritisation of reporting based on clinical priority as opposed to chronological allocation.
The tool also highlights potential critical findings to reporters, which can be integrated into their diagnosis, transforming a radiologists’ experience of CT brain analysis and improving the accuracy of medical diagnosis of acute stroke.
Medica CEO Andrew Cannon speaks with Surabi Srivastava about the partnership between Qure.ai and Medica at our white paper event held in 2024.
"The qER algorithm is immensely useful to reporting clinicians when interpreting acute brain CTs. It not only facilitates the rapid allocation of critically abnormal scans to our reporters but it helps to increase the accuracy of our reports by lowering human error. Medica's thoroughly tested and robust implementation of the tool is testament to their attention to detail and foresight and I'm hopeful that this is just the first of many integrations with AI."
Dr Garry Pettet, Clinical Safety & Audit Officer
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