Healthdirect Australia, Infermedica and Partners Collaborate on ChatGPT Health Service Pilot
Healthdirect Australia is collaborating with Infermedica, Skin Analytics, AWS and DEPT® to bring trusted AI-powered health guidance into ChatGPT
DENVER, CO, UNITED STATES, June 18, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- When an Australian opens ChatGPT late at night to ask about a child’s fever, a sudden pain, or a mole that has changed, they are usually on their own with their smartphone. Healthdirect Australia is setting out to change that.Today Healthdirect announced it is working with clinical AI company Infermedica, skin cancer screening company Skin Analytics, and technology partners AWS and DEPT® to bring Healthdirect directly into ChatGPT.
“Australians are reaching for AI because it’s instant, it’s personal, and it speaks their language,” said Bettina McMahon, Chief Executive Officer, Healthdirect Australia. “Our job isn’t to talk them out of that, but to make it as safe and reliable as possible. For an Australian who opens ChatGPT with a worry at 11pm, we want them to get guidance grounded in trusted Australian health information, and to know a nurse is just one tap away if they need one.”
Australians are already using AI for their health: ChatGPT is already used by around half of Australia’s adult population. OpenAI research found that 55% of Australians had used ChatGPT to check symptoms before seeing a doctor, while 40% had used it to understand treatment options.
The right questions matter as well as the right answers: General-purpose AI assistants are powerful tools for health information and education, but healthcare outcomes depend not only on answers, but also on asking the right questions.
When Healthdirect is invoked in ChatGPT, consumers are guided through clinically validated questions, allowing clinical logic to lead the conversation.
Our vision of what Australians will get:
• AI asks you the right questions. Infermedica’s clinically validated triage technology guides the conversation and recommends next steps.
• Talking to a nurse, any time. Consumers can switch to an Australian Healthdirect nurse at any point, with a seamless handover from the chat.
• Answers grounded in trusted Australian content. Guidance draws on Healthdirect’s clinically assured content and trusted partners.
• A way to act on the advice. Consumers can find nearby services, available appointments and booking options through Healthdirect.
• Quality watched by Healthdirect. The experience is evaluated against clinical benchmarks and safeguards.
• No cost to consumers. Available through the free version of ChatGPT, with access to Healthdirect nurses and doctors when needed.
If they tagged Healthdirect, ChatGPT would first ask a few short questions drawn from Infermedica’s triage technology to check for warning signs of something more serious, before advising whether it's safe to manage at home. It would then provide self-care advice and offer the option to speak with a nurse.
Infermedica's clinically validated triage technology has supported more than 27 million patient interactions globally and is trusted by over 100 healthcare organisations across 35 countries. The platform is certified as a Class IIb medical device under European MDR.
“Large language models have changed how people access health information, but healthcare requires a higher standard of safety, transparency and clinical oversight,” said Piotr Orzechowski, Chief Executive Officer, Infermedica. “By combining Healthdirect’s trusted services, ChatGPT’s conversational capabilities and Infermedica’s triage technology built on more than 150,000 hours of physician expertise, we can help ensure Australians receive guidance that is both easy to access and grounded in proven clinical methodology.”
A world-first skin cancer check in your pocket: As part of the collaboration, autonomous skin cancer screening will be integrated into the experience. Using technology from Skin Analytics, Australians will be able to photograph a skin spot with their phone and learn whether it could be benign, pre-malignant or malignant.
If required, the assistant will provide a referral letter and help arrange follow-up care. DERM is the world’s first AI medical device cleared to autonomously assess skin cancer. It has assessed more than 230,000 patients across 25 NHS hospitals in England and identified more than 20,000 skin cancers. A consumer phone-only version has recently been certified, with Australian TGA registration underway.
“Our mission is a world where no one dies of skin cancer, and that means meeting people where they are. After six years and 20,000 cancers found in the UK's NHS, we are partnering with Healthdirect, OpenAI and AWS to put a clinically validated skin cancer check where Australians are looking for health information. This is exactly the kind of partnership that turns our mission into something real for millions of people.” said Neil Daly, Chief Executive Officer, Skin Analytics.
Built to plug in: The collaboration uses open standards so it can expand to other AI assistants over time, not just ChatGPT. Healthdirect retains the clinical logic, content and data governance within its secure AWS cloud environment. AWS is providing infrastructure and technical support, while DEPT®, Healthdirect’s digital product partner, is designing and building the ChatGPT experience.
Access to free health advice: The collaboration supports governments’ commitment to provide free health advice and services to Australians, wherever and whenever they need it. Alongside the Healthdirect phone line and app, it explores how the service can meet people where they are, with Australian localisation and access to an Australian nurse or doctor.
Starting with the opportunity while understanding the risks: The proof of concept starts with an invited group of consumers, whose experience will help shape governance, monitoring and safeguards before any wider release.
Generative AI can present inaccurate information confidently. The collaboration will explore these risks while ensuring consumers understand the limits of health advice delivered through an AI interface.
“This new technology has the potential to help millions of Australians make better choices about their health every day, and to connect with the right services”, said Bettina McMahon. “We are clear-eyed about what can go wrong, and we are designing safeguards built to scale nationally. But we are even clearer about our mission of a healthier Australia, and our duty to use every tool we have to reach it. The greater risk lies in standing still.”
Jennifer Hand
Infermedica
Jennifer.hand@infermedica.com
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