Vital Guard™: A New Standard for Identifying and Communicating Incidental Findings

AI-powered solution helps health systems identify, communicate, and act on overlooked findings before they become adverse events

CLAYMONT, Del., Feb. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Vital today announced the launch of Vital Guard™, an AI-based, EHR-connected solution that reads clinical documentation and radiology reports to help health systems identify and communicate incidental findings to patients.

Incidental findings (IF) are physical findings which are detected on imaging studies that were typically ordered for an unrelated reason. While often unexpected, these findings can signal the early presence of life-threatening diseases such as cancer, aneurysms, or atherosclerosis. Research has shown that up to 31% of acute care imaging studies contain an incidental finding, and 83% of patients with an incidental finding do not obtain recommended follow-up.

Vital Guard makes the discovery, disclosure, and communication process of incidental findings simple for clinical staff, helping improve patient outcomes while reducing malpractice exposure and operational risk, in addition to generating new downstream revenue for health systems.

Vital Guard uses advanced natural language processing AI on radiology reports and provider notes to automatically generate high-priority worklists containing incidental findings that were not communicated to patients during clinical encounters. Then, the solution closes the communication loop with text messages to patients, enabling a single clinician to cover multiple sites through the same interface to conduct incidental finding communications asynchronously.

"Incidental findings represent one of the most common and most preventable breakdowns in patient communication today," said Justin Schrager, MD, founder and Chief Medical Officer, Vital. "Vital Guard ensures these clinically significant findings don't fall through the cracks by helping care teams identify them earlier, communicate them clearly, and close the loop with patients in a way that improves outcomes while reducing risk for providers."

Vital Guard is already making a difference in improving patient communication and outcomes. For example, a 73-year-old woman had imaging in the emergency room that incidentally revealed a thoracic aortic aneurysm. When she was contacted by a clinician about the incidental findings, she already had an appointment scheduled for follow up for a separate issue but was unaware of the aneurysm. As a result of Vital Guard detecting the aneurysm, the patient was able to obtain treatment she otherwise may have missed.

Separately, a 54-year-old man went to the ED for back pain but obtained a CT scan that revealed an incidental left adrenal mass. The finding required outreach from a clinician to ensure the patient was aware of the issue and could take action. After a text message and call from the clinician, the patient contacted his primary care physician and was referred to an endocrinologist for consultation and monitoring. The case illustrates how Vital Guard's structured communication program helps patients receive timely evaluation and care for incidental findings.

In another recent case, a malignant kidney lesion was identified and escalated for immediate follow-up, enabling the patient to access life-saving oncology care. The patient had not been told about the lesion while receiving care (for a separate reason) in the ER. Because the finding was rapidly identified and communicated, the patient was urgently seen by the oncology service and began treatment without delay.

A 10-week pilot study at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center (MGMC) demonstrated the impact of Vital Guard in a real-world setting, with over 4,400 imaging studies reviewed, 1,000+ findings surfaced, and 259 moderate-to-high-risk cases triggering direct patient outreach.

To learn more about Vital Guard, click here.

About Vital
Vital (Vital.io) is an AI-powered patient experience company on a mission to make the patient journey better—for everyone. Real-time updates, predictive wait times, plain-language explanations of test results, and simplified discharge instructions all help patients feel valued and reassured. Because the experience matters as much as the medicine. Ranked by KLAS as #1 in patient experience, Vital achieves concrete results: 30–50% fewer LWOBS/AMA, 10–15% higher NPS, stronger HCAHPS scores, reduced ED bounce-back, and 10% lower 30-day readmissions. Designed to integrate seamlessly with existing EHR systems, Vital provides a user-friendly interface that engages patients, resulting in 60%+ adoption rates, 5-10x higher than the competition. View our product overview.

Media Contact:
Marcia Rhodes
Supreme Communications for Vital
[email protected]

SOURCE Vital