health
January 13, 2026
Doctors think AI has a place in healthcare – but maybe not as a chatbot
OpenAI and Anthropic have each launched healthcare-focused products over the last week.
TL;DR
- ChatGPT Health will offer a private setting for users to discuss health concerns, with messages not used for AI training.
- Users can enhance personalization by uploading medical records and syncing with apps like Apple Health and MyFitnessPal.
- Concerns exist regarding the transfer of sensitive medical data to non-HIPAA compliant vendors and regulatory oversight.
- Over 230 million people already discuss health with ChatGPT weekly, indicating a significant existing use case.
- AI chatbots, including GPT-5, are prone to 'hallucinations,' which is a critical issue in healthcare.
- Long wait times for doctors in the US make AI tools a potential alternative for some patients.
- AI can automate administrative tasks for physicians, potentially increasing the number of patients they can see.
- Stanford is developing ChatEHR to streamline clinician interaction with electronic health records.
- Anthropic is also developing AI products for clinicians and insurers to reduce administrative burdens like prior authorization requests.
- A tension exists between doctors' patient-focused incentives and tech companies' shareholder accountability.
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