Anthropic has announced a new healthcare-focused product days after OpenAI revealed ChatGPT Health, positioning its Claude for Healthcare tools as a more provider- and payer-oriented system that emphasizes administrative support and data integration.
Announcement And Product Scope
On Sunday, Anthropic said it is introducing Claude for Healthcare, a collection of tools designed for healthcare providers, insurers, and patients. The announcement follows OpenAI’s recent introduction of ChatGPT Health, which is expected to roll out gradually and focus primarily on patient-facing conversations.
Anthropic said Claude for Healthcare will allow users to sync health data from phones, smartwatches, and other platforms. Both Anthropic and OpenAI have stated that health data shared through their healthcare products will not be used to train their underlying models.
Comparison With ChatGPT Health
While ChatGPT Health is positioned around patient-side chat interactions, Anthropic described Claude for Healthcare as offering broader functionality for institutional use. The company said its product is designed to support more complex workflows, particularly for healthcare providers and payers, rather than focusing solely on conversational guidance for individuals.
Some healthcare professionals continue to raise concerns about large language models that are prone to hallucinations when used for medical advice. Anthropic said its approach centers on what it calls “agent skills,” which are intended to support structured tasks rather than replace clinical judgment.
Connectors And Data Sources
Claude for Healthcare includes features Anthropic refers to as “connectors,” which allow the system to access external platforms and databases used in healthcare operations. These connectors can link Claude to resources such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Coverage Database, the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, the National Provider Identifier Standard, and PubMed.
Anthropic said access to these sources is intended to speed up research, documentation, and report generation for insurers and healthcare providers.
Prior Authorization And Administrative Work
In a blog post, Anthropic said Claude for Healthcare could use its connectors to accelerate prior authorization reviews. Prior authorization is the process in which clinicians must submit additional documentation to insurers to determine whether a treatment or medication will be covered.
“Clinicians often report spending more time on documentation and paperwork than actually seeing patients,” said Mike Krieger, Anthropic’s chief product officer, during a presentation about the product.
Anthropic characterized prior authorization as an administrative task that does not require a physician’s specialized clinical training. The company said this type of work is more suitable for automation than direct patient care, though Claude is also positioned to provide medical information.
Existing Use Of AI For Health Questions
Anthropic’s announcement comes amid widespread use of AI chatbots for health-related questions. OpenAI has said that 230 million people discuss their health with ChatGPT each week, a figure that highlights the scale of patient-side engagement with large language models.
Both Anthropic and OpenAI continue to caution users that AI tools are not a substitute for professional medical care and that individuals should consult qualified healthcare professionals for personalized and reliable guidance.
Featured image credits: PhotoGranary02/Shutterstock
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