OpenAI Launches Health Integration Amid Lawsuit Over Medical Advice

OpenAI has introduced "Health in ChatGPT," enabling users in the U.S. who are 18 and older to link their Apple Health data and supported medical records to the chatbot. According to OpenAI, the integration allows the AI to consider lab results, medications, and activity levels to provide personalized responses and help users summarize medical history.

The rollout occurred one day after a Florida man filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court. As reported by The Register, the plaintiff alleges that ChatGPT provided "extremely dangerous medical recommendations" that discouraged him from seeking care while suffering from a pulmonary embolism. The lawsuit claims the chatbot repeatedly reassured the man his symptoms were not serious, resulting in hospitalization and, the plaintiff claims, years of intensive physical and psychological recovery.

In response to the lawsuit, an OpenAI spokesperson told The New York Times that the chatbot's terms of service state it is not intended for medical treatment or diagnosis. The company told The Register that its models have improved since the incident in question. OpenAI further stated it worked with hundreds of physicians to test the new feature for safety and performance, though the company maintains that ChatGPT is not a doctor.

OpenAI noted that the decision to integrate health data into general chats follows testing of a dedicated health space, which The Register reports users bypassed in more than 70 percent of health-related conversations. OpenAI asserts that connected health data will not be used for advertising or to train foundation models.