Hartford HealthCare Embraces AI with PatientGPT
As health care-focused AI solutions for consumers become increasingly popular, Hartford (Connecticut) HealthCare (HHC) has opted to meet people where they are by embedding a HIPAA-compliant AI chatbot in the system’s patient portal, HHC President and CEO Jeffrey Flaks explained in a recent interview with U.S. News & World Report.
PatientGPT Pilot Marks a Major Step in Hartford HealthCare’s AI Innovation Strategy
HHC debuted PatientGPT in March. The health system created the AI solution — which leverages an individual’s medical records to establish context and ensure accuracy — through a collaboration with the clinical AI company K Health.
The PatientGPT program is currently in its pilot phase, with nearly 400 conversations to date. The project contributes to HHC’s objective of becoming “the most consumer-centric health system in the country” and follows the launch of HHC 24/7, a virtual care service, in April 2025.
“PatientGPT represents the next evolution of really meeting people where they are and of recognizing ways to deliver more personalized health care that's more accessible,” Flaks told U.S. News & World Report when asked what the health system aims to achieve with the AI tool. “It's for patient engagement, and it's informative. But when there's the potential or need for a visit, it is able to triage and create immediate access through the HHC 24/7 platform. It fills a really significant void.”
How HHC’s HIPAA‑Compliant AI Chatbot Is Transforming Digital Health Access
HHC’s AI solution offers a safe option for patients who choose to consult AI about medical matters. As companies like Amazon, OpenAI, Microsoft and Anthropic have introduced consumer-facing AI models focused on health care, the portion of people who turn to artificial intelligence for advice about their conditions and treatment is growing: Approximately 32% of U.S. adults report turning to AI chatbots for information or advice about their health, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s March 2026 Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust.
“Because it's within our ecosystem, we are able to oversee quality assurance,” Flaks told U.S. News & World Report. “We are able to monitor and manage this.”
According to a press release, PatientGPT assists patients by
- Interpreting lab results in plain language
- Answering questions about the patient’s health based on their medical record
- Flagging potential medication interactions
- Connecting patients to virtual care
- Helping schedule in-person medical appointments
- Providing conversation summaries that patients can send to clinicians
HHC’s launch of PatientGPT is part of a broader trend of health systems introducing AI tools for patients. For example, Sutter Health in Sacramento, California, and Reid Health in Richmond, Indiana, have both implemented Emmie, a chatbot developed by the electronic health record provider Epic, according to Newsweek.
