Last Updated on Sunday, 18 January 2026, 16:22 by Writer
Health minister Dr Frank Anthony on Saturday said the public health sector has begun piloting artificial intelligence (AI) reading of X-rays and other medical images with a high percentage of accuracy.
“We have such a system right now that we are operating at the Enmore Regional Hospital, where once a digital x-ray is done, it goes into the system, it takes 17 seconds for it to be read and the accuracy of what is there is close to 99% and that is something that we want to scale up,” he said.
The minister, himself a medical doctor, made the announcement at the Ministry of Health’s launching of the electronic health records system (EHRS) at Festival City Polyclinic, South Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
He told the gathering, which included residents from the catchment area that uses the polyclinic that the AI system is reading medical images with an almost 100 percent accuracy. “The accuracy of what is there is close to 99% and that is something that we want to scale up,” he said.
Dr Anthony said that AI image reader system, which is being piloted at that East Coast Demerara regional hospital, can also read magnetic resonance images (MRIs) and computed tomography (CT) images when there are more of the latter in the system. “This direction in which we are going. This is one that is absolutely necessary if we are going to deliver world-class health care to people,” he said.
The EHRS will allow patients to book appointments online, have their tests and other diagnostics recorded and prescriptions made and dispensed.
Eventually patients’ medical history, including treatment, will be available and accessible at any public hospital, health centre or outpost.
The government also plans to integrate the records of private health care institutions.
