Radiology is deploying an AI agent to support the vetting of radiology referrals in line with the national GIRFT Imaging initiative. This is the first AI agent of its kind to go live within England and is a genuine milestone for how an automation system with AI, delivered with radiologist in the loop oversight, has been embedded into the referral vetting workflow.
The Radiology AI vetting agent supplements the IRefer clinical decision support system. This pilot automation will work on our highest-volume non-obstetric ultrasound and MRI referrals from 6 May through to 16 October 2026.
Why are we doing this?
Manual vetting of imaging referrals across our Radiology service involves many clinical hours each year and our approach will aid the appropriateness of referrals using our locally agreed policies in seconds, with full radiologist oversight retained for the cases.
For our clinicians, this automation mitigates inappropriate and overuse of diagnostic imaging contributing to non-optimal use of resources and potentially affecting the priority for clinical assessment of patients, and long waits.
For our admin teams, the AI Agent supports them to spend more time dealing with the complex cases, helping them with backlog demands and pressures.
For GPs, the difference is just as significant. When a referral is not approved, they will receive a clear explanation more quickly to aid clinical decision making.