The perfect storm: Why 5% of all ChatGPT messages are about health care

Why 5% of all ChatGPT messages are about health care

A January OpenAI report found that 5% of all messages sent to ChatGPT over the past year were health-related. Medical Economics asked Rosemarie Aznavorian, D.N.P., RN, CENP, CCWP, CCRN, executive vice president of client services and chief clinical officer at MedPro Healthcare Staffing, what's driving that volume. She said it's not any single thing.

One factor is the electronic health record portal. Results are often posted before a provider has reviewed or contextualized them, leaving patients to interpret abnormal values on their own.

"Patients see a lab result and start asking, 'Is this in a normal range? What does this mean?' and then they go down the rabbit hole," Aznavorian said. Another driver is treatment anxiety — patients facing a recommended procedure will naturally want to understand their options, explore alternatives and prepare questions before their next appointment.

In both cases, she said, there's a legitimate educational upside. A patient who arrives having already researched their condition can engage more meaningfully in the clinical conversation. The risk comes when AI becomes the final word rather than the starting point. "It can be detrimental if they only use AI as their guidance," Aznavorian said.