Why ChatGPT IS NOT Your Best Friend in Health Care
by Dr Cam McDonald
AI is everywhere. From writing emails to planning workouts, tools like ChatGPT make life easier. It’s tempting to ask them for health advice too. But when the goal is a longer, healthier life, the kind of AI you choose makes all the difference.
Let’s look at why a popular generalist like ChatGPT can be helpful—but falls short for true personalised care—and how CLIA, working inside the Shae precision-health platform, sets a completely different standard.
ChatGPT: Brilliant Wordsmith, Limited Health Guide
ChatGPT is a language expert. It has learned patterns from billions of pages of text—articles, books, medical papers and everyday conversations. That training lets it explain complex ideas clearly and even follow multi-step reasoning.
It can:
- Translate research into everyday language
- Summarise long guidelines
- Draft patient emails or clinic handouts
Where it stops short is knowing you.
Unless a custom patient model is built on top, ChatGPT does not keep a living, causal map of your unique biology. Two people can type in the same blood results and get almost identical advice—even if their underlying risks, genetics and daily rhythms are worlds apart.
It’s not that ChatGPT is careless. It does have safety policies. But those rules are broad and not medically specific. They help avoid obvious harm; they don’t provide the deep, personalised guardrails that clinical care demands.
CLIA/Shae: Designed to Know the Person, Not Just the Problem
CLIA (Clinical Lab Interpretation AI) was created with one goal: precision medicine.
It isn’t a general chatbot that happens to talk about health. It’s a precision-health engine built from the ground up to understand each individual and predict how their body will respond over time.
CLIA works by:
- Integrating phenotype, genotype, bloods, imaging, microbiome data, lifestyle habits, and wearable inputs
- Modelling cross-system interactions like gut–immune–neuroendocrine loops and cardio–renal links
- Forecasting what will change over the next 6–12 months and adjusting recommendations as new information flows in
Every output is clinically supervised. A specialist panel and evidence-based guidelines define what CLIA can and cannot recommend. If a plan could put health at risk, the system won’t bend to pressure—it simply won’t suggest it.
Real-Life Scenarios Show the Difference
Gene confusion, like MTHFR variants
In online forums, people often wonder whether to take methylfolate based on a single gene result. ChatGPT can explain the pathway and urge caution, but it cannot weigh that gene against full blood panels, medications, diet, stress and lifestyle. CLIA brings all of those pieces together before giving an answer.
Rare but serious conditions
Consider gadolinium deposition disease, a rare complication of MRI contrast. CLIA can link MRI history with neurological symptoms, lab trends and phenotype, raising GDD as a possible issue and suggesting the right next tests. ChatGPT could describe the condition but would not rank it for that particular person.
Two patients, same labs
Imagine two people with the same BMI and similar cholesterol numbers. ChatGPT might provide the same diet advice to both. CLIA will not. It can spot differences in circadian rhythm, food timing tolerance and stress load, then create unique plans with different forecasts for each.
Critical red flags
A cholesterol reading around 500 mg/dL is a genuine emergency. ChatGPT will recommend immediate medical care—good. CLIA goes further: preparing a concise referral summary, flagging phenotypic risk modifiers and suggesting safe interim steps while urgent care is arranged.
Built on Big, Meaningful Data
Precision medicine only works with deep and trustworthy data. CLIA’s engine is fed by:
- Volume – decades of carefully collected, clinically supervised person-level data representing an incredible amount of human follow up data
- Variety – contributions from 140 countries for broad, bias-resistant insights
- Veracity – every data stream reviewed and quality-checked by medical experts
These foundations let CLIA create precision reference ranges for each person—something generic AI simply cannot do.
Proven Impact
Technology is only as good as the outcomes it delivers. Independent audits and internal studies show that people using the Shae app powered by CLIA experience:
- Lowered risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes through targeted lifestyle changes
- Reduced risk of mental health issues in workplace populations thanks to precision coaching
This is real-world evidence that personal data, when analysed correctly, can lead to measurable improvements in health and well-being.
Privacy and Professionalism at the Core
Health data deserves the highest level of care. CLIA stores all identifiable information, including genomic and wearable inputs, in secure, closed systems that meet or exceed Australian and international privacy standards. Users know how their data is used and can opt out at any time.
Equally important, CLIA is not a diagnostic tool. It supports doctors, allied health providers and health coaches by providing a comprehensive review of each person’s data, leaving the clinician firmly in charge of decisions.
Where Each AI Fits
The takeaway isn’t to avoid ChatGPT entirely. It shines in areas like:
- Education and translation of medical language
- Summarising new research for busy practitioners
- Brainstorming discussion questions for clinic visits
Use it for knowledge and communication.
Use CLIA/Shae for individualised health planning and precision decision support.
The Future of Health Is Personal
We all want convenient tools. It’s natural to ask a free online AI about diet or symptoms. But health is not one-size-fits-all. Your genes, microbiome, daily rhythms and environment create a unique blueprint. Acting on generalised answers can delay the care you truly need.
Choosing CLIA inside the Shae platform means choosing AI that knows the person, not just the problem. It translates complex science into practical, personalised guidance with proven outcomes.
Bottom Line
ChatGPT is a powerful companion for learning. CLIA/Shae is a trusted partner for living well.
When it comes to your health, choose the AI designed for precision medicine—and step into the future of care that understands you.