OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health to connect medical records and wellness apps — CEO Sam Altman still won't trust AI with his "medical fate" without involving real doctors

OpenAI recently unveiled a dedicated experience in ChatGPT designed for health and wellness called ChatGPT Health. The experience lets users link medical records and wellness apps like Apple Health directly to ChatGPT.

The AI firm indicated that the experience isn't designed to outrightly replace medical care by providing diagnosis and treatment. Instead, it's designed to bolster the user's general well-being by helping them answer any health or medical-related questions. What's more, the responses will be curated based on the user's personal health data.

OpenAI revealed that the majority of its user base leverages the chatbot's capabilities for health purposes. For context, approximately 230 million people across the world ask health and wellness-related questions on ChatGPT every week.

To address any safety and privacy concerns users might have about interacting with the new experience, ChatGPT Health will store all uploaded files, conversations, and connected apps separately from other chats. Additionally, the data and memories from the experience won't flow outside the dedicated space. OpenAI also indicated that user data from ChatGPT Health won't be used to train its AI models.

That said, users can leverage ChatGPT Health's capabilities to better understand test results and even prepare for doctor appointments. It can also be used to bolster your wellness by providing advice about your diet and recommending workout routines.

The experience is shipping to a limited number of users with ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans outside of the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. However, OpenAI plans to expand access to ChatGPT Health to all users on the web and iOS over the next few weeks.

Last year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman discussed the impact of generative AI on the job market, noting that professions such as customer care agents are already feeling the strain. However, he firmly stated his preference for a human doctor over any AI‑powered tool:

"I really do want a human doctor. ChatGPT today, by the way, most of the time, is a better diagnostician than most doctors in the world. There's all these stories on the internet of like, ChatGPT saved my life… and yet people still go to doctors. Maybe I'm a dinosaur here, but I really do not want to trust my medical fate to ChatGPT with no human doctor in the loop."

The executive also admitted that users tend to trust ChatGPT to a high degree, even though it hallucinates sometimes. "It should be the tech that you don't trust that much," Sam Altman added.

Would you trust ChatGPT Health with your medical records and wellness apps? Let me know in the comments and vote in the poll!

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