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ZDNET Highlights
- ChatGPT Health and Cloud for Healthcare both debuted last week.
- Google’s MedGemma 1.5 model was introduced soon after.
- All of these indicate the growing presence of AI in healthcare.
The world’s three leading AI laboratories have kicked off the new year with the launch of health care-oriented products.
Their functions differ, but they all point in the same direction: a world in which patients, payers, and providers rely on artificial intelligence to accelerate certain critical tasks and democratize access to key benefits. It’s still early days for AI-powered healthcare, and the lack of federal oversight means there’s little accountability if the technology acts in unexpected and dangerous ways. But three new products give us a glimpse of what’s likely to be the new normal.
Also: What the country’s strongest AI rules will change in 2026, according to legal experts
Here’s an overview of each of the new tools, how they work, and who can currently access them.
ChatGPS for Health and Cloud for Healthcare
On January 7, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Health, a feature within the chatbot that enables users to upload health records from apps like Apple Health and Function and receive personalized medical advice.
one in blog postOpenAI wrote that the new health function was “developed in close collaboration with physicians around the world to provide clear and useful health information.” It is currently being tested by a small group of early users and will be made generally available on the web and iOS in the coming weeks. according to axios. You can also sign up through a waiting list To gain access.
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Four days later, Anthropic launched a similar feature, Cloud for Healthcare, which allows Pro and Max customers in the US to upload personal health records through built-in connectors to health apps.
“When connected, the cloud can summarize users’ medical histories, interpret test results in simple language, detect patterns in fitness and health metrics, and tailor questions to appointments,” Anthropic writes in its article. Announcement. “It aims to make patients’ interactions with doctors more productive, and help users stay well-informed about their health.”
Cloud for Healthcare also provides connectors and skills for payers and providers. For example, physicians can use it to speed up the process – known as prior authorization – of checking with the insurer to confirm that a given treatment or drug will be covered under the patient’s plan. Healthcare organizations can now access Cloud for Healthcare cloud for enterprise and this Cloud Developer Platform.
Both OpenAI and Anthropic said in their announcements that users’ health data will not be used to train new models, and that the new tools are not intended to serve as a substitute for direct, personalized treatment. “Healthcare is designed to support, not replace, medical care,” OpenAI wrote in its blog post.
Also: 40 million people globally are using ChatGPT for health care – but is it safe?
ChatGPT Health and Cloud for Healthcare are so similar that they can be considered direct competitors at a time when healthcare is undervalued compared to other industries. Rapid adoption of AI tools.
On the user side, large numbers of people are using popular AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot for advice about health insurance, whether they should be concerned about a particular set of symptoms and other highly personalized health-related topics.
Medjemma 1.5
On January 13, Google announced the release Medjemma 1.5its latest Medjemma Family of Foundation Model Designed to help developers create apps that can analyze medical text and imagery.
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Unlike ChatGPIT Health and Cloud for Healthcare, MedGemma 1.5 is not a standalone, consumer-facing tool; Yet it can still be seen as part of the AI industry’s race to strengthen its hold in the healthcare industry.
MedGemma is a freely available model hugging face And Vertex AI.
concerns
As developers readily admit, AI chatbots are still very susceptible to hallucinations – fabricating lies and presenting them as facts. This clearly presents serious risks when someone is chatting with ChatGate or the cloud about their personal healthcare concerns, which is why OpenAI and Anthropic have issued warnings that their new features should only be used as a supplement, not a replacement for actual healthcare providers.
Data privacy is another common and legitimate concern when it comes to sharing personal health records with AI systems. OpenAI and Anthropic appear to have anticipated that concern; Both companies emphasize that their new features are designed to maximize privacy.
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For example, cloud for healthcare users can control what health data will be shared with the chatbot. Also, the sharing feature is off by default.
OpenAI said in its blog post that while the new health feature in ChatGPIT can reference relevant details from non-health-related chats, such as recent moves, health-related conversations will always remain within that dedicated space. In other words, the chatbot won’t be able to include conversations when you’re discussing an unrelated topic. You can also view and modify the chatbot’s memories within the Health tab or in the Personalization section in Settings.
