Anthropic announced a new suite of healthcare and life sciences features on Sunday, enabling users of its Claude AI platform to share access to their health records to better understand their medical information. The launch comes just days after rival OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Health, signalling a broader push by major AI companies into healthcare, a field seen as both a major opportunity and a sensitive testing ground for generative AI technology.
In October, Anthropic announced Claude for Life Sciences, its latest step in making Claude a productive research partner for scientists and clinicians, and the company is now introducing Claude for Healthcare, a complementary set of tools and resources that allow healthcare providers, payers, and consumers to use Claude for medical purposes through HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)-ready products. In the US, Claude Pro and Max plan subscribers can choose to give Claude secure access to their lab results and health records, with new HealthEx and Function connectors available in beta, whilst Apple Health and Android Health Connect integrations are rolling out in beta this week via the Claude iOS and Android apps. Anthropic said its platform now includes HIPAA-ready infrastructure and can connect to federal healthcare coverage databases, the official registry of medical providers, and other services that will ease physician and health-provider workloads. Dhruv Parthasarathy, chief technology officer at Commure, which creates AI solutions for medical documentation, said in a statement that Claude's features will help Commure in saving clinicians millions of hours annually and returning their focus to patient care.
Anthropic's acceptable use policy requires that a qualified professional must review the content or decision prior to dissemination or finalisation when Claude is used for healthcare decisions, medical diagnosis, patient care, therapy, mental health, or other medical guidance. The expansion comes amid heightened scrutiny over whether AI systems can safely interpret medical information and avoid offering harmful guidance. This week's announcement builds on Anthropic's initial foray into healthcare by expanding Claude's capabilities to support hospitals, payers, and patients, positioning the company alongside OpenAI in the competitive medical AI landscape.
Sources:
1. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/anthropic-health-care-rcna252872
2. https://www.anthropic.com/news/healthcare-life-sciences
3. https://medcitynews.com/2026/01/anthropic-openai-healthcare/
