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Tuesday, 8 September 2026 |
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| In the past six months or so, just about every tech giant and tons of digital health startups with apps have been telling users that they can now connect their own medical records so an AI chatbot or assistant can give personalized guidance and other tailored services. |
| Google, OpenAI, Amazon, Anthropic, Whoop, Oura… they’re all doing it. About 160 companies have pledged to build AI assistants that leverage medical records, according to CMS. |
| It’s fascinating that technology and regulatory frameworks have matured enough that this capability is possible. In a new story we’re publishing today, I dig into the trend, what catalyzed it and some of the tensions that are already bubbling up. |
| I came away with the sense that when it comes to interoperability, particularly for patient access to data, we are so much further along than just a few years ago. |
| But there's still friction: Dominant healthcare organizations aren’t willing to release their grip on patient data completely like consumer apps want them to. And those legacy organizations do make some reasonable points about protecting patient privacy. |
| I also still have unanswered questions. Will patients actually want to connect their medical records? There's pervasive skepticism across social media forums about handing personal health data over to big tech companies. People fear their health information being leaked or sold. This trend is new, so I wasn’t able to get a sense of just how many people are taking apps up on the offer. |
| Perhaps the most important question is: Will guidance from AI, based on personal health records, actually lead to better health outcomes? I don't think we know yet, and that answer might depend on the type of app. I could see a diabetes-specific program with access to medical records having more luck at helping manage a patient’s condition than a general AI chatbot. But I can also envision some real risks of chatbots getting things wrong. |
| We’ll have more to come on this topic. Read my story here and let me know if you have more information to
share. |
| - Shelby |
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Why consumer apps set their sights on patient health records
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Just a few years ago, if you wanted your full medical records, you’d have to remember all the places you’ve received care, go patient portal by patient portal to request them and try your best to recall long-forgotten passwords. You might need to trudge to a hospital or clinic in person to ask for your data.
But today, you can download one of dozens of apps that will do the work for you, without any need to remember where you’ve been treated.
It’s part of a revolution for patient access to their own health data in the US, and it’s happening as Americans increasingly turn to ChatGPT and other chatbots to answer their health questions. |
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NYC Health Tech Happy Hour |
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Have you signed up yet for our Health Tech event on Nov. 5? |
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This week in health Тech |
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Oura’s S-1 is officially out. We’ll be digging into this more this week, but at first glance, the company is profitable and has been since 2024. For the first nine months of its fiscal year, it booked net income $60.8 million and revenue of $1.2 billion. |
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Worldwide made. Thanks for reading.
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