FOX Business’ Geri Willis and “The Big Money Show” panel discuss the application of artificial intelligence in the medical field and who is flocking to the technology for health information.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the healthcare industry and more Americans are turning to AI tools for medical advice.
OpenAI claims that around 40 million users worldwide now use ChatGPT daily for health-related questions. The company recently launched ChatGPT Health, a feature that allows users to analyze medical test results, prepare for doctor appointments, and seek general advice.
Rival company Anthropic has also rolled out Claude for Healthcare, designed to support clinical workflows and patient education.
Hospitals and health systems are increasingly partnering with major AI companies to improve diagnostics and more. (Joe Skipper/Reuters)
Hospitals and health systems are increasingly partnering with leading AI companies to improve diagnostics, streamline operations and expand access to medical information.
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is one of OpenAI’s healthcare partners, alongside several other major US hospital systems. Dr. Anaeze Offodile II, MSK’s chief strategy officer, told FOX Business the hospital is exploring how AI can be used responsibly in research, patient education and administrative operations.
“Over the next year, we will identify areas where these tools can add value, evaluate them carefully, and work to scale them responsibly,” Offodile said. “Our responsibility is to ensure that these technologies are safe, ethical and truly beneficial for patients.”
He added that the healthcare industry already goes beyond a pre-ChatGPT era.
“I don’t think we can go back to a world before generative AI,” Offodile said. “The key question now is how do we ensure it is used responsibly.”
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York is one of OpenAI’s healthcare partners. (Plexi Images/GHI/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
A recent industry survey shows that nearly a third of U.S. health systems are now paying for commercial AI licenses as adoption accelerates.
An area where the the technology is already promising is the detection of skin cancer.
At MSK’s Dermatology Lab, researchers are testing AI tools that analyze medical images and patient data to identify suspicious lesions and flag high-risk individuals.
“I think AI is going to be a game changer for skin cancer detection in particular,” said Dr. Veronica Rotemberg, director of the Dermatology Informatics Program at MSK. “The most important thing right now is to test these technologies in real clinical settings so we can understand how impactful they really are.”
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One of the tools evaluated is a 360-degree full-body photography system that uses 92 cameras to capture detailed images of a patient’s skin. The goal is to use AI to automatically detect new or changing lesions over time, a process currently done manually by clinicians.
Another technology, confocal reflectance microscopy, allows doctors to see beneath the surface of the skin. The light-powered microscope can detect melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, with about 80 percent accuracy. About 112,000 Americans are diagnosed with melanoma every year, according to the American Cancer Society.
OpenAI claims that around 40 million users worldwide now use ChatGPT daily for health-related questions. (Idrees Abbas/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“As dermatologists, our goal is to detect all skin cancers while minimizing unnecessary biopsies,” Rotemberg said. “It’s a delicate balance. These tools help improve what we call specificity, identifying cancer more accurately while avoiding procedures that patients don’t need.”
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Doctors are also testing an AI-powered dermatoscope that attaches to a smartphone camera, offer rapid assessments that could expand screening in clinical and remote settings.
Yet experts emphasize that these tools are designed to support – not replace – doctors.
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“These technologies still require clinical judgment,” Rotemberg said. “They are not a replacement for qualified health care professionals.”
Doctors also caution that consumer AI health applications can be inconsistent and should never replace a professional medical assessment.
As AI continues to expand in healthcare, doctors say preserving the doctor-patient relationship remains essential.