Tags: medical AI

Perplexity AI has rolled out Premium Health Sources, a new feature that pulls data from top medical journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and BMJ Group. The move lets the chatbot cite trusted clinical guidelines and drug databases when users ask health questions, a segment that accounts for more than one in ten queries on the platform. Aimed at both everyday users and healthcare professionals, the upgrade promises evidence‑backed responses while stressing that it does not replace professional medical advice. Read more

A Harvard-led trial comparing OpenAI's o1 reasoning model with human physicians in a Boston emergency department showed the AI correctly identified the exact or near‑exact diagnosis in 67% of cases, outpacing doctors who scored between 50% and 55%. When provided with more detailed patient information, the model's accuracy rose to 82% versus 70%‑79% for clinicians. Researchers caution the findings are not statistically significant and note the AI cannot assess visual cues or patient demeanor, but suggest the technology could serve as a rapid second opinion in emergency care. Read more

Meta's Superintelligence Labs rolled out Muse Spark, a new generative AI model that can analyze users' personal health information, through the Meta AI app. The company says the tool was trained with input from more than 1,000 physicians and will soon appear on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Health experts warn that the service is not HIPAA‑compliant, may retain data for future training and could expose sensitive information, raising serious privacy and safety questions. Read more

OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT Health, a dedicated health‑focused tab within the ChatGPT app that offers users a safer way to ask medical questions, review lab results, and organize health information. The feature uses the same large language model as standard ChatGPT but adds stricter limits, physician‑reviewed responses, and extra encryption to protect sensitive data. It can sync with apps such as Apple Health and upload documents, yet it does not replace professional diagnosis or treatment. OpenAI stresses that the tool is for consumer wellness and is not HIPAA‑covered, while acknowledging ongoing risks like hallucinations and the need for user caution. Read more

Anthropic announced Claude for Healthcare, a suite of AI tools aimed at providers, payers, and patients. Like OpenAI’s ChatGPT Health, the platform can sync health data from phones and wearables without using that data for model training. Claude adds advanced "connectors" to major medical databases such as the CMS Coverage Database, ICD-10, the National Provider Identifier Standard, and PubMed, enabling faster prior‑authorization reviews and research. While industry observers note the risk of hallucination‑prone large language models offering medical advice, both Anthropic and OpenAI caution users to consult qualified healthcare professionals. Read more

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Health, a new section within the ChatGPT app designed specifically for health‑related queries. Users can securely link medical records and wellness apps such as Apple Health, MyFitnessPal, and Peloton, allowing the AI to tailor responses to personal data. The tool is positioned as a support system rather than a diagnostic service, emphasizing that it should not replace professional medical care. OpenAI highlights extensive physician collaboration, layered security measures, and the ability for users to control data access and deletion. Access is currently limited to a waitlist, with broader rollout planned in the coming weeks. Read more

OpenAI has introduced ChatGPT Health, a separate space within its AI chatbot that lets users link medical records and wellness apps for more personalized health‑related answers. The company says the feature includes extra privacy safeguards and that conversations in this area will not be used to train its foundational models. Still in testing, the service has regional limits on which health apps can connect. OpenAI stresses that ChatGPT Health is not meant for diagnosis or treatment and warns that AI chatbots are not qualified to give medical advice, citing risks of inaccurate information and privacy concerns. Read more

OpenAI says that 40 million people ask health‑related questions of ChatGPT each day, representing more than five percent of all prompts. A survey of U.S. adults who have used AI for health in the past three months shows that over half use the tool to explore symptoms, while many also rely on it for medical terminology and treatment options. OpenAI describes the chatbot as a "healthcare ally" and cites a real‑world case where a user helped coordinate urgent care for a family member abroad. The company acknowledges the risks of relying on AI for medical advice and says it is partnering with hospitals and researchers to improve safety and accuracy. Read more

Neal Shah, driven by personal experiences with insurance denials during his wife's cancer treatment, founded Counterforce Health, a free AI‑driven service that creates customized appeal letters for denied claims. The platform lets users upload denial notices and medical records, then generates evidence‑based appeals in minutes. Counterforce aims to level the playing field as insurers increasingly use AI to reject claims swiftly. Backed by grants and venture funding, the tool remains free, safeguards user data, and has already helped thousands overturn denials, offering a practical countermeasure to the growing automation of claim rejections. Read more

OpenEvidence, a medical AI platform likened to ChatGPT for doctors, disclosed a $200 million financing round that values the startup at $6 billion. The new capital follows a $210 million raise three months earlier at a $3.5 billion valuation. Trained on leading medical journals, the tool provides rapid answers to clinical questions for verified professionals, who can use it for free supported by advertising. Since its 2022 founding, OpenEvidence has seen clinical consultations per month nearly double to 15 million. The round was led by Google Ventures with participation from multiple top venture firms. Read more

Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, has refused to green‑light a plan that would let Catholics interact with an artificial‑intelligence version of him online. While warning that AI could endanger children’s development and threaten human dignity, justice and labor, the pope emphasized that he is not opposed to the technology outright. He highlighted the medical breakthroughs enabled by AI and called for strong regulation to prevent a "fake world" from eroding truth. Read more

Medical AI tools are expanding their reach, but experts warn they may downplay symptoms in women and ethnic minorities and raise privacy concerns. Google says it treats model bias seriously and is developing techniques to protect sensitive data. Open Evidence, used by hundreds of thousands of doctors, relies on citations from medical journals and regulatory sources. Research projects such as UCL and King’s College London’s Foresight model, trained on anonymized data from millions, aim to predict health outcomes, while European Delphi-2M predicts disease susceptibility. The NHS paused Foresight after a data‑protection complaint, highlighting the tension between innovation and patient privacy. Read more