OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT Health, a new feature within its AI chatbot that provides medical advice to users in the United States. The function, announced yesterday and currently unavailable in the UK, allows users to ask health-related questions, analyze lab results, explain medical messages, and provide clinical history.
The company encourages users to connect medical records and wellness apps like Apple Health for personalized responses, with patient data encrypted and conversations not used for chatbot training. OpenAI stressed that “Health is designed to support, not replace, medical care. It is not intended for diagnosis or treatment.”
Medical experts have expressed serious concerns about the technology’s safety and accuracy. Sophie McGarry, a solicitor at Patient Claim Line, warned that AI health advice can be “very dangerous,” potentially leading to overdiagnosis, underdiagnosis, or misdiagnosis. “False reassurances from AI health advice could lead to the same devastating outcomes” as delayed or missed diagnoses, she said. According to a survey by Semble, approximately one in four patients already turn to AI to understand their health, driven by frustrations with limited GP appointments and lengthy NHS waiting lists.
Only US residents can currently join the waitlist for the feature, which will not be available in the UK or EU due to strict privacy laws.