bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Associated Press

With hundreds of millions of people turning to chatbots for advice, it was only a matter of time before tech companies began offering programs specifically designed to answer health questions.
In January, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Health, a new version of its chatbot that the company says can analyse users’ medical records, wellness apps and wearable device data to answer health and medical questions.
Currently, there is a waiting list for the program. Anthropic, a rival AI company, offers similar features for some users of its Claude chatbot.
Both companies say their programs are not a substitute for professional care and should not be used to diagnose medical conditions.
Instead, they say the chatbots can summarise and explain complicated test results, help prepare for a doctor’s visit, or analyse important health trends buried in medical records and app metrics.

Here are some things to consider before talking to a chatbot about your health.
1. Chatbots can offer more personalised information than a Google search
Some doctors and researchers who have worked with ChatGPT Health and similar programs see them as an improvement over the status quo.
AI platforms are not perfect – they can sometimes hallucinate or provide bad advice – but the information they produce is more likely to be personalised and specific than what patients might find through a Google search.
“The alternative often is nothing, or the patient winging it,” says Dr Robert Wachter, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “And so I think that if you use these tools responsibly, I think you can get useful information.”

One advantage of the latest chatbots is that they answer users’ questions with context from their medical history, including prescriptions, age and doctor’s notes.
Even if you have not given AI access to your medical information, Wachter and others recommend providing the chatbots with as many details as possible to improve responses.
2. If you are having worrisome symptoms, skip AI
Wachter and others stress that there are situations when people should skip the chatbot and seek immediate medical attention. Symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain or a severe headache could signal a medical emergency.
Even during less urgent situations, patients and doctors should approach AI programs with “a degree of healthy scepticism”, says Dr Lloyd Minor of Stanford University in the US state of California.
“If you’re talking about a major medical decision, or even a smaller decision about your health, you should never be relying just on what you’re getting out of a large language model,” says Minor, who is the dean of Stanford’s medical school.

3. Consider your privacy before uploading any health data
Many benefits offered by AI bots stem from users sharing personal medical information. But it is important to understand that anything shared with an AI company is not protected by the US federal privacy law that normally governs sensitive medical information.
Commonly known as HIPAA, the law allows for fines and even prison time for doctors, hospitals, insurers or other health services that disclose medical records. But the law does not apply to companies that design chatbots.
“When someone is uploading their medical chart into a large language model, that is very different from handing it to a new doctor,” Minor says. “Consumers need to understand that they’re completely different privacy standards.”
Both OpenAI and Anthropic say users’ health information is kept separate from other types of data and is subject to additional privacy protections. The companies do not use health data to train their models. Users must opt in to share their information and can disconnect at any time.

4. Testing shows chatbots can stumble
Despite excitement surrounding AI, independent testing of the technology is in its infancy. Early studies suggest programs like ChatGPT can ace high-level medical exams – but often stumble when interacting with humans.
A 1,300-participant study by Britain’s Oxford University recently found that people using AI chatbots to research hypothetical health conditions did not make better decisions than people using online searches or personal judgment.
While AI chatbots presented with medical scenarios in a comprehensive, written form correctly identified the underlying condition 95 per cent of the time, that was not the problem, says the lead author, Adam Mahdi, of the Oxford Internet Institute.
“The place where things fell apart was during the interaction with the real participants.”

Mahdi and his team found several communication problems. People often did not give the chatbots the necessary information to identify the health issue. Conversely, the AI systems often responded with both good and bad information, and users had trouble distinguishing between the two.
The study, conducted in 2024, did not use the latest chatbot versions, including new offerings like ChatGPT Health.
5. A second AI opinion can be helpful
The ability for chatbots to ask follow-up questions and elicit key details from users is one area where Wachter sees room for improvement.
“I think that’s when this will get really good, when the tools become a little bit more doctor-ish in the way they go back and forth [with patients],” Wachter says.
For now, one way to feel more confident about the information you are getting is to consult multiple chatbots – similar to getting a second opinion from another doctor.
“I will sometimes put information into ChatGPT and information into Gemini,” Wachter says, referencing Google’s AI tool. “And when they both agree, I feel a little bit more secure that that’s the right answer.”


5 of the best things to do in Hong Kong this weekend, March 6-8

Singapore’s ‘ageless’ photographer Chuando Tan turns 60 and fans still cannot believe it

Hong Kong launches 3-year action plan to help residents fight the flab

Why electrolyte drinks like Gatorade and Pocari Sweat aren’t always beneficial

Wellness

Should you ask an AI chatbot about your health? 5 things to know before you start sharing

AI chatbots can offer health insights but they are not substitutes for professional care. Here are some things to consider before talking to a chatbot about your health. Photo: Shutterstock

This image by OpenAI shows a health chatbot on a phone app. Photo: OpenAI via AP

Dr Robert Wachter of the University of California, San Francisco, says if you use chatbots responsibly, you can get useful information. Photo: magazine.ucsf.edu/Christopher Michel

Dr Lloyd Minor is the dean of Stanford’s medical school. Photo: biox.stanford.edu

Experts say chatbots can summarise and explain complicated test results, help prepare for a doctor’s visit or analyse health trends in medical records and app metrics. Photo: Shutterstock

A study by Oxford University found that people using AI chatbots to research health conditions did not make better decisions than people using online searches or their own judgment. Photo: Shutterstock

What is the best brain training test to reduce dementia risk? Study examines various types

In a study on whether specific types of cognitive training could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, the group that undertook speed training improved the most, in areas including safer driving, improved mood and more self-confidence. Photo: Shutterstock

An illustration of a cross-section of a normal brain (left) and one of a brain damaged by Alzheimer’s disease. Photo: Shutterstock

A screen capture from the Double Decision speed training brain game used in the Active study. Photo: BrainHQ

Dr Marilyn Albert is a professor of neurology and director of cognitive neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University in the US state of Maryland. Photo: Johns Hopkins

Neuroscientists recognise that the brain is “plastic” and capable of change at any age. They understand it can rewire itself in response to certain experiences or learning. Photo: Shutterstock

How 83-year-old can do 300 pull-ups in under 40 minutes and why he trains others for free

Charles Mammay prepares to exercise in the obstacle course he built in the front garden of his home in Oak Island, in the US state of North Carolina, in 2025. Photo: Instagram/charlesmammay

Mammay does pull-ups as part of this regular morning workout at the age of 83. Photo: Charles Mammay

Mammay is pictured in 2015 aged 72 while training for his first appearance on American Ninja Warrior. Photo: Facebook.com/OKIchuckmammayanw

Mammay (far right) welcomes people of all ages to train with him in the obstacle course and workout centre he built in his garden, including Ginny MacColl (second right). Photo: Charles Mammay

Mammay has maintained his fitness ever since he shaped up “real quick” after joining the US Army at 18. Photo: Charles Mammay

Mammay (centre), MacColl (left) and another fitness buff exercise on a rope that is part of Mammy’s obstacle course. Photo: Charles Mammay

Why your brain forces your senses to perceive reality to fit preconceived ideas

What colour is the apple on the cover of Daniel Yon’s book A Trick of the Mind: How the Brain Invents Your Reality? 
Photo: Amazon

Keanu Reeves in The Matrix. If given the choice, we should all take the blue pill and return to our “delusion”, says Daniel Yon, an experimental psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist at the University of London in the UK. Photo: Warner Bros

Daniel Yon is a psychologist and neuroscientist at the University of London. Photo: Facebook/BirkbeckUniversityofLondon

The cover of Daniel Yon’s book, A Trick of the Mind: How the Brain Invents Your Reality. Photo: Amazon

Trying to understand other people is a bit like trying to understand what life looks like on other planets, Yon notes. Photo: Shutterstock

Philosophers, religions and authors have often encouraged us to try to experience reality as it is through things like psychedelic drugs. Photo: Shutterstock

Swollen, puffy face? You might have ‘moon face’. Experts explain, share how to reduce it

“Moon face” or “cortisol face”, a condition in which the face appears swollen and puffy, is a health concern that has been popping up online. Photo: Instagram/mamamiaaus

The most common cause of moon face is long-term use of corticosteroid medications. Photo: Shutterstock

Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

Tech

AIs like Chat GPT and Claude are not substitutes for professional care, say experts, but can give useful information if used responsibly


AIs like Chat GPT and Claude are not substitutes for professional care, say experts, but can give useful information if used responsibly.


Should you ask an AI chatbot about your health? 5 things to know before you start sharing

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}AIs like Chat GPT and Claude are not substitutes for professional care, say experts, but can give useful information if used responsibly

AIs like Chat GPT and Claude are not substitutes for professional care, say experts, but can give useful information if used responsibly