OpenAI has taken an important step in the evolution of ChatGPT. The artificial intelligence company led by Sam Altman has introduced ChatGPT Health as a feature designed to help us better understand our medical information, organise it, and prepare for appointments with our doctors. An interesting proposal in a field as sensitive as health, where data and context are essential.
ChatGPT Health securely integrates data from our medical history, fitness apps, and other health services, with several layers of protection for our information. With this context, ChatGPT goes beyond simply answering general questions, as it adapts to our own data.
A dedicated space just for our health
ChatGPT Health works as a separate space within ChatGPT, with its own memory and storage, so our conversations, documents, and connected apps remain completely isolated from other chats. While conversations appear in the history so we can pick them up whenever we want, their data is handled independently and with a higher level of security than usual.
Within the service, we can connect apps such as Apple Health, MyFitnessPal, Weight Watchers, Function, or even Peloton, as well as import medical results and visit summaries. With this integration, ChatGPT can give us personalised answers to the questions we ask. We’re not talking about simply reading a summary of our latest blood test, but about having access to an explanation of how our cholesterol has evolved, or an exercise guide genuinely tailored to our current situation.
OpenAI has made it very clear that ChatGPT Health is designed to complement medical care, not replace it. Its goal is to help us organise information, understand certain patterns, and prepare the key questions we want to resolve at our next medical appointment. In those situations where information is scattered across apps, PDFs, wearables, and medical portals, having everything in one place is especially useful and saves us from having to hunt for data before a doctor’s visit. And if we add a system capable of pulling out specific data and patterns from all the available information, the usefulness of the approach becomes obvious.
Privacy and security as a priority
Privacy is central to ChatGPT Health. All the information we manage in this space is handled with dedicated encryption and kept isolated thanks to a compartmentalisation system designed for medical data.
Conversations in the Health section are not used to train OpenAI’s models, and we can delete any memory or data access from the Personalisation section or the Apps Settings, with just a few clicks. The system also offers support for multi-factor authentication, so we can add extra protection against any unauthorised access.
If we decide to connect our medical record, ChatGPT Health uses b.well, the largest medical data network in the United States. When linking external apps, the connection always requires our explicit authorisation, and we can revoke access at any time, giving us full control over what information we use and when.
How to start using ChatGPT Health
To access ChatGPT Health, we have to sign up for the waiting list. OpenAI has explained that it is rolling out access progressively to an initial group of users in the United States on the Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans, and that it plans to expand it in the coming weeks to the web and iOS.
Once we have access, we’ll be able to select the Health option in ChatGPT’s side menu and start importing our information. We can upload files directly, connect compatible apps, or import our medical records. From there, the experience is as simple as writing: we can ask, “How have my sleep habits changed over the last month?” or “What should I review with my doctor tomorrow?” and get an answer based on our data.
ChatGPT Health is a very interesting step for those of us who want more control and clarity over our health without sacrificing privacy. OpenAI has created an environment with the strongest safeguards for discussing a topic as sensitive as health with artificial intelligence. A foolproof system? No, but a very important step towards bringing the power of AI into our lives while maintaining the highest level of control and guarantees. A way for ChatGPT to answer us much better whenever we have any questions about our health.
