OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Health, Promises Empowerment but Raises New Questions About AI, Privacy, and Medical Oversight
ChatGPT Health was developed with input from more than 260 physicians across 60 countries, whose feedback helped shape safety standards and response quality.
OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT Health, a dedicated health-focused experience designed to help users better understand and manage their medical information while keeping sensitive data protected.
The new feature consolidates health conversations, connected medical records and wellness apps into a separate, secure space within ChatGPT. OpenAI said the move responds to surging demand: more than 230 million people worldwide ask health and wellness questions on ChatGPT every week, making it one of the platform’s most common use cases.
ChatGPT Health was developed with input from more than 260 physicians across 60 countries, whose feedback helped shape safety standards and response quality.
ChatGPT Health allows users to securely connect medical records and apps such as Apple Health, MyFitnessPal and Function, grounding responses in personal health data.
The tool can help explain test results, prepare for doctor visits, interpret wearable data, or weigh insurance options. OpenAI stressed that Health is not designed to diagnose or treat conditions, but to support informed conversations with clinicians.
However, not everyone is convinced and eager to share their medical records with an AI system. An executive in the health industry has warned that handing over sensitive patient data to AI platforms, even with strong safeguards, raises unresolved concerns around long-term data control, consent, and accountability if systems fail or are misused.
He told The Left Shift, "In the case of medical, it's okay to consult, but that should be it; it's like asking your friend about it over a cup of coffee, not more."
Others have also raised concerns about people sharing their medical data with OpenAI. However, OpenAI has stressed privacy and security are central to the product’s design.
Health operates as a separate environment with purpose-built encryption and data isolation, ensuring health information does not flow into non-health chats. It adds conversations within Health are not used to train OpenAI’s foundation models, and users can view or delete stored health memories at any time. Multi-factor authentication is also available for added protection.
OpenAI said access will roll out gradually, starting with a limited group of users outside Europe, with broader availability planned in the coming weeks.
