Earlier this week, OpenAI launched the Health platform in ChatGPT for US users. Individuals have always been able to use GPT to inquire about medical conditions, understand potential symptoms or gather other generalized information about healthcare or treatments. However, the new feature goes one step further: the platform allows users to securely connect supported health records and other external repositories, such as Apple Health, so that ChatGPT can understand a patient’s specific context, medical history and details regarding test results and healthcare data in order to provide better answers. This contextualized and personalized service is what the company has been driving toward from its early days, and now, it is working to achieve it in the realm of healthcare.
The company claims that nearly 300 million users turn to the service on a weekly basis with health-related questions. However, this new feature will allow the ability for users to get more detailed answers based on their individual lab results and diagnostic tests.
Why is this important?
Because it is likely informative of where the future of healthcare delivery is heading. For many individuals, AI has now become a household staple to answer questions about complicated topics. These tools have become increasingly more intelligent and incorporated seamlessly throughout services. For example, users can now use AI to draft texts and emails, or even deal with other complicated forms of correspondence. Even with regards to professional services, AI can be used to provide a first iteration of knowledge or tackle routine tasks. The ability to now weave AI across other health tracking software and datasets, such as Apple Health, will provide inroads for users to seek deeper and more tailored advice for their needs.
Needless to say, this work cannot be used to replace the judgement of a medical professional. After all, healthcare delivery is not as algorithmic as people may think. If it was purely rules based, then healthcare access could have been solved decades ago, even without the advanced capabilities of AI. One key challenge of healthcare is the humanistic approach that is often required. Physicians do more than purely apply rules and algorithms to a set of symptoms; they take into account the social and psychological aspects of patients. This humanistic approach is often what helps establish sustainable and practical treatment modalities, rather than relying on answers that can simply be read out of a textbook and may be infeasible to implement. This is often why healthcare is considered an art, rather than purely a science.
The hyper-personalization of AI in the healthcare space will undoubtedly stand to help millions of people gain better access to health literacy and general knowledge. However, this knowledge is ineffective without the wisdom healthcare delivery frequently requires; thus, these services cannot replace healthcare professionals, but can only augment their services and abilities.