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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- OpenAI announced a Health mode for ChatGPT.
- You can connect health apps and upload your personal files.
- The advice isn’t intended to replace actual medical care.
OpenAI wants to make sure that any medical information you get from ChatGPT is as accurate as possible.
Approximately 40 million people a day rely on ChatGPT for medical questions. In response, OpenAI announced ChatGPT Health, a “dedicated experience” in ChatGPT that’s centered around health and wellness.
The feature will enable you to combine your medical records and wearable data with the AI’s intelligence, “to ground conversations in your own health information,” according to OpenAI. You can use it to help you prepare for your next appointment, plan questions to ask your doctor, receive customized diet plans or workout routines, and more.
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OpenAI notes that the feature is not intended to replace medical care, nor is it designed for diagnosis or treatment. Instead, the goal is for you to ask everyday questions and understand patterns related to your whole medical profile.
What ChatGPT can see about your health
According to OpenAI, one of the biggest challenges people face when seeking medical guidance online is that information is scattered across provider-specific portals, wearable apps, and personal notes. As a result, it can be hard to get a good overview.
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This leads people to turn to ChatGPT, which often only gets a partial view of the picture, too.
However, now you can provide ChatGPT with data from your personal medical records and from any health-tracking apps you use. OpenAI said that you can connect a variety of sources:
- Medical Records for lab results, visit summaries, and clinical history
- Apple Health for health and fitness data, including movement, sleep, and activity patterns
- Function for lab test insights, nutrition ideas, and taking action on your health
- MyFitnessPal for nutrition advice, macros, and recipes
- Weight Watchers for GLP-1 personalized meal ideas, recipes, and food guidance
- AllTrails to help you find your next hike
- Instacart to turn meal plans into shoppable lists
- Peloton for suggested workout classes or guided meditations
Keeping your info secure
OpenAI acknowledged that health information is “deeply personal,” so it’s adding extra protections to ChatGPT Health. The company said, “Conversations and files across ChatGPT are encrypted by default at rest and in transit as part of our core security architecture. . . . Health builds on this foundation with additional, layered protections — including purpose-built encryption and isolation — to keep health conversations protected and compartmentalized.”
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The company also said that Health conversations will not be used for its foundation model training.
Health is its own memory and its own space in ChatGPT, and your Health conversations, connected apps, and files won’t mix with your other chats. However, some information from your regular ChatGPT sessions may surface in your Health space when applicable.
How to try ChatGPT Health
To try out ChatGPT Health, you’ll need to join the waitlist. OpenAI said it’s providing access to a small group of early users to “continue refining the experience.” As it makes improvements, the company will expand the feature to all users across the web and iOS over the next few weeks.
When you have access, select Health from the sidebar menu in ChatGPT to get started.
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