OpenAI is making big claims as it rolls out ChatGPT Health to everyone
OpenAI is rolling out ChatGPT Health to everyone in the US on Thursday, allowing more people to connect their medical records and health-tracking information to the chatbot. During a briefing, Ashley Alexander, OpenAI’s vice president of health product, says the company’s models “are now capable of reasoning at levels that are better than clinician level.”
When asked for more information about how the performance of OpenAI’s models stacks up against human clinicians, OpenAI health lead Karan Singhal says that he would “temper” the claim that they are reasoning at better levels, but that “there have been individual studies that have been pointing in that direction,” like this one from Harvard and Stanford. On Wednesday, a Florida pastor sued OpenAI over claims ChatGPT provided him with “extremely dangerous medical recommendations,” allegedly leading him to put off medical care for a pulmonary embolism.
The broader release of ChatGPT Health comes just weeks after OpenAI launched its new GPT-5.6 Sol, which it claims is its “strongest model yet for health.” ChatGPT Health will run on the company’s latest models.
With this update, OpenAI will now allow users to ask questions about their connected medical information in the main chat experience, rather than having them navigate to the dedicated ChatGPT Health tab. ChatGPT will ask for permission before using your health information to personalize its response, adding that “all conversations are encrypted at rest and at transit,” while information connected in Health “receives additional encryption protection.”
Users can also review and change the kinds of health data they connect to ChatGPT, including post-visit notes, notes from their care team, lab results, and medications. Currently, users can connect their data from health providers, along with services like Apple Health, Weight Watchers, MyFitnessPal, and Function. OpenAI notes that the ChatGPT Health “supports, not replaces, professional care.” It’s rolling out to all logged-in ChatGPT users aged 18 and older on the web and iOS across free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans.
