OpenAI has unveiled ChatGPT Health, a specialized feature in ChatGPT aimed at improving health care interactions for millions of users. The introduction comes as approximately 40 million individuals utilize ChatGPT daily to seek health-related information. This initiative seeks to address the growing demand for accessible health insights while ensuring patient safety and effective use of artificial intelligence (AI).
To delve deeper into the implications of this new tool, Northwestern Now interviewed Dr. David Liebovitz, co-director of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine’s Center for Medical Education in Data Science and Digital Health at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. With extensive experience in clinical informatics, Dr. Liebovitz has been at the forefront of integrating AI into patient care.
Enhancing Patient Interaction with AI
Dr. Liebovitz emphasized that the key question is not whether patients will engage with AI for health information, but how to enhance that interaction. “We must help them use these tools effectively and safely, with appropriate guardrails and realistic expectations regarding their capabilities,” he stated.
The launch of ChatGPT Health aligns with the 21st Century Cures Act, which mandates health care systems to grant patients complete access to their medical records. By leveraging standardized application programming interfaces (APIs), patients can utilize AI tools like ChatGPT Health to better understand their health data. This means that for virtually zero additional cost, patients can gain insights into lab results, prepare questions for medical appointments, and identify potential gaps in their care.
Dr. Liebovitz described a future where patients can download their health records, process them through an AI model on their personal devices, and receive customized insights without risking data exposure to third-party servers. This shift represents a significant step towards democratizing health information, allowing patients to manage their health data independently.
AI’s Role in Advancing Medical Care
Despite advancements, the medical community still grapples with diagnostic errors and care gaps. More than 25 years after the Institute of Medicine’s report “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System,” the problem persists. Dr. Liebovitz noted that AI assistants capable of reviewing a patient’s entire medical history could significantly reduce these risks.
These AI tools synthesize contextual information rather than creating alarm based on isolated symptoms. They offer a more comprehensive approach, addressing the limitations of traditional searches for health information.
However, Dr. Liebovitz also raised critical concerns regarding patient privacy. Unlike conversations with health professionals protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), interactions with AI like ChatGPT are not legally privileged. This means that health data shared with AI could potentially be subjected to legal scrutiny in litigation or other processes, raising significant privacy concerns, particularly for sensitive issues like reproductive and mental health.
To mitigate these risks, Dr. Liebovitz suggested an alternative approach: running AI models locally on patients’ devices. Modern smartphones possess the processing power needed to execute these models without sending data to the cloud. This method would eliminate concerns over data exposure and ensure complete privacy for users.
The rapid advancement of on-device AI capabilities, as demonstrated by Apple’s initiative with Apple Intelligence, indicates a promising future. Open-source models optimized for mobile hardware are also evolving, making it increasingly feasible for patients to have powerful health assistants operating entirely on their phones.
Dr. Liebovitz’s research group is exploring practical applications of these technologies, focusing on ensuring the public can access meaningful second opinions about their health data while maintaining control over their information. The convergence of standardized health records, robust mobile technology, and advanced open-source models aims to empower patients in managing their health more effectively.
This story is republished courtesy of Northeastern Global News.
