The UK’s Defence Medical Services has awarded a £2.5 million ($3.3 million) contract to Avenue3 to deliver Project Mercury, a secure electronic health record system designed for military clinicians deployed worldwide.
Project Mercury will enable clinicians to access, record, and share patient medical data across multiple devices, including in austere or disconnected environments where internet access is unavailable.
Leeds-based digital health consultancy Avenue3 will collaborate closely with UK and NATO medical personnel to rapidly adapt and refine the system to support both current and future operational requirements.
The platform leverages Near Field Communication technology—similar to contactless payment systems—to facilitate offline data exchange, ensuring medical teams have the most up-to-date patient information during operations.
Following the transition from proof-of-concept to full deployment, the first operational release of Project Mercury is planned for Spring 2026, with ongoing development and wider rollout extending into 2027.
The contract forms part of the UK’s broader effort to modernize armed forces healthcare. In 2022, Defence Medical Services began consolidating fragmented medical records into a single secure digital system for service personnel.
This was followed in 2023 by a Ministry of Defence initiative to enhance field medical kits with digital monitoring equipment, allowing real-time transmission of vital signs from deployed units to rear-area medical facilities.
In parallel, Programme Cortisone continues to progress, aiming to establish an integrated Healthcare Information Services framework capable of supporting both fixed-base and deployed medical operations, including offline access and cross-service interoperability.
