From Paperwork to Patients: Using AI to reduce wait times for colonoscopy

Medical research changes lives. Across Aotearoa New Zealand, researchers are advancing new treatments, improving health outcomes, and tackling some of the biggest challenges to improving our health.

When Dr Jay Gong, a clinical academic pharmacist at the University of Auckland, sat down with gastroenterologist Dr Henry Wei, they shared a frustration familiar to many healthcare professionals: while thousands of New Zealanders waited for vital colonoscopy appointments, specialists were spending countless hours manually reviewing referral letters.

Rather than accepting the problem, Jay and Henry set out to solve it.

Co-Principal Investigators Dr Henry Wei (left) and Dr Jay Gong

Working largely in their own time, they developed an AI-assisted tool designed to help specialists triage colonoscopy referrals more quickly and consistently, while keeping clinicians firmly in control of every decision. The goal is simple but powerful: help patients at highest risk of bowel cancer get seen sooner and free up specialist time for direct patient care.

Now, thanks to funding from the Auckland Medical Research Foundation, their work is entering an important new phase. Their 2026 project grant will support rigorous testing of the technology to ensure it is safe, reliable and equitable for New Zealanders, with particular attention to improving outcomes for Māori and Pacific patients who currently experience higher rates of bowel cancer and poorer outcomes.

For Jay, the funding represents a significant career milestone as his first major project grant as lead researcher and the beginning of a long-term programme exploring how artificial intelligence can improve patient care and health system efficiency. For Henry, it is an opportunity to bring frontline clinical expertise to the development of practical solutions that could reduce delays and improve access to care.

Together, these researchers are demonstrating how innovation, clinical experience and donor support can come together to address some of healthcare's biggest challenges and improve outcomes for patients across Aotearoa New Zealand.