UT Health Houston is partnering with OpenAI, the organization behind ChatGPT, to accelerate innovation and enhance healthcare efficiency.
The collaboration with OpenAI was born out of UTHealth's efforts to explore new AI tools and platforms that could benefit the health system, Xiaoqian Jiang, PhD, professor and chair of the department of health data science and artificial intelligence at McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UT Health Houston, told Becker's.
According to Dr. Jiang, discussions about the partnership began in 2023 when UTHealth Houston started using Microsoft's Azure platform and learned about OpenAI's HIPAA-compliant models.
"OpenAI offers newer models, and they also have a HIPAA-compliant version, which requires a special business associate agreement (BAA)," Dr. Jiang said. "We pushed forward with conversations, especially after seeing other collaborations between OpenAI and institutions like ASU and Michigan. Thanks to our IT team's persistence, we were able to make this partnership happen."
One of the key focus areas of the partnership is leveraging OpenAI's tools, such as ChatGPT, to enhance education and research at UTHealth Houston. Dr. Jiang highlighted how these tools can support students in learning and research projects, especially in writing code, speeding up algorithm development and generating hypotheses for research.
"GPT models can create quizzes that faculty can use to assess students' progress, helping to identify areas where students may need more focus," Dr. Jiang said. "It enhances both the teaching and learning experience."
In addition to educational benefits, the partnership is expected to address operational challenges within the health system, particularly around patient scheduling and onboarding.
"We are developing voice-based GPT models that could be integrated into scheduling systems. For example, patients could call 24/7 to make appointments, reducing the need for long waits on hold," Dr. Jiang said. "This system wouldn't be used for clinical decision support, but for tasks like information collection, allowing physicians to focus more on patient care."
With AI's growing presence in healthcare, concerns about privacy and the responsible use of AI tools are top of mind for many. Dr. Jiang stressed that ensuring patient safety and privacy is a priority for UTHealth Houston as they develop and implement AI-driven solutions.
"As a healthcare institution, it's our responsibility to use these tools carefully," he said. "With this OpenAI partnership, we have safeguards in place to protect patient privacy. For example, any data that enters the platform won't be retained, and we're working to ensure that privacy is protected by design."
He also emphasized that AI tools will be used to support healthcare professionals, not replace them.
"We're not using AI for clinical decision support. Instead, it's a tool to assist with tasks like structuring data, which will help physicians improve efficiency."
Looking ahead, Dr. Jiang said he is excited about the possibilities that this partnership opens up.
"This collaboration with OpenAI allows us to innovate in a safe and secure environment. It gives our team the ability to explore new ideas and solutions that could significantly improve healthcare efficiency and reduce patient wait times," he said.