OpenAI Integrates ChatGPT into Epic Electronic Health Record Systems
OpenAI is expanding its presence in healthcare by integrating AI tools into Epic EHR workflows and launching a plugin for public medical databases.
Abdulrahman Sadikhli2 min read
OpenAI has announced the integration of ChatGPT Health with the Epic electronic health record (EHR) system. This platform contains data for more than 325 million patients. The new solution allows clinicians to import information from records and use AI to analyze medical notes directly within their workflows.
Using ChatGPT, physicians can access appointment notes, laboratory results, medication lists, and specialist documentation. The system allows for summarizing this data, reviewing medical history, tracking patient progress, and preparing for upcoming visits. In several configurations, AI access is possible without leaving the patient's chart, enabling the creation of clinical chronologies and preliminary data reviews.
Developers emphasize that the integration grants the AI read-only access to data; writing information into medical records is not supported. Additionally, OpenAI introduced the Healthcare Public Data plugin, which provides access to external sources including ClinicalTrials.gov, CMS Coverage, RxNorm, DailyMed, and PubMed. This tool is designed for searching clinical trial eligibility criteria, drug identifiers, and insurance coverage rules.
For organizations with a Business Associate Agreement, OpenAI is providing access to ChatGPT Work, Codex, and relevant connectors to ensure compliance. Previously, last month, the company provided access to ChatGPT for health to all consumers in the U.S., noting that users ask the system about 300 million medical questions weekly.
Despite the expanded functionality, OpenAI officially states that the AI is not intended for diagnosing or prescribing treatment. According to an internal company study covering 4,300 physician responses across 27 clinical scenarios, 99.1% of responses were deemed safe. Nevertheless, the company is facing lawsuits: in May, a user's family accused ChatGPT of providing incorrect medication dosage recommendations, and recently, a Florida pastor filed a lawsuit claiming that AI advice led to a threat to his life.
Source: techcrunch.com
