TP470 – When AI Becomes the First Stop for Care

For years, healthcare has talked about patients as informed consumers. Now, many of them are showing up informed before they ever touch a health system. In this episode of Touch Point, hosts Chris Boyer and Reed Smith unpack what’s behind OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT Health and why it signals a meaningful shift in how people seek, process, and act on health information. The conversation starts with a look at new research from OpenAI that shows how millions of people are already using ChatGPT for healthcare related questions. Not hypotheticals. Real behavior. Real scale. From understanding lab results to navigating insurance, AI has quietly become a first stop in the health journey. From there, Chris and Reed break down what ChatGPT Health actually does, what it does not do, and why that distinction matters for health systems, marketers, and experience leaders. They explore how AI is filling gaps created by short appointments, fragmented records, and limited access, and what that means for trust, preparation, and patient expectations moving forward. They then feature an interview with Brandon Scott, Chief Innovation and Growth Officer of TenAdams, that grounds the discussion in reality, examining where AI genuinely helps patients, where it creates new tensions, and why slow moving, walled garden thinking is increasingly out of step with how people now manage their health. This is not an episode about replacing clinicians. It is about understanding a new layer of the patient experience that already exists and deciding how healthcare organizations respond to it. If your digital strategy still assumes the website is the first interaction, or that education starts after the visit, this episode will challenge that assumption. Mentions From the Show:  OpenAI — AI as a Healthcare Ally (Jan 2026) OpenAI — Introducing ChatGPT Health ChatGPT Health launches to serve “hundreds of millions” seeking health and wellness guidance each week Anthropic joins OpenAI's push into health care with new Claude tools Brandon Scott on LinkedIn TenAdams.com Reed Smith on LinkedIn Chris Boyer on LinkedIn Chris Boyer website Chris Boyer on BlueSky Reed Smith on BlueSky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices