The national health information provider is partnering with OpenAI, Infermedica and Skin Analytics on an AI-powered proof of concept, with consumer testing to begin soon.
Healthdirect Australia is testing a new ChatGPT integration that could allow Australians to move directly from an AI health conversation to a Healthdirect nurse, as the national health information provider seeks to meet consumers where they are increasingly seeking healthcare advice.
At HSD’s Prevention Summit in Canberra yesterday, Healthdirect CEO Bettina McMahon told delegates the organisation was working with clinical AI company Infermedica, skin cancer screening company Skin Analytics, technology partners AWS and DEPT® to bring Healthdirect services directly into ChatGPT.
The proof of concept would enable consumers to access Healthdirect content and services through ChatGPT, while providing pathways to speak with a nurse and connect to healthcare services.
Ms McMahon said it was no secret that consumer use of AI for health information was already widespread.
“We’re seeing consumers vote with their feet, they’re using these tools, so it’s here,” she said.
“We’re not trying to talk people out of it, but we’re looking at what can each of us do to make it better, safer, localised.
“Australians are reaching for AI because it’s instant, it’s personal, and it speaks their language,” Ms McMahon said.
“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.”
Healthdirect cited research commissioned by OpenAI in December 2025 which found 55% of Australians had used ChatGPT to check symptoms before seeing a doctor, while 40% had used it to understand treatment options.
Healthdirect has already been testing conversational AI experiences with consumers.
“We’ve been testing that with our consumer panel,” Ms McMahon said.
“Consumers of all ages and backgrounds have loved it and said that they’ve found it incredibly helpful.”
Under the proposed model, Healthdirect would be available within ChatGPT through a dedicated application layer designed to provide Australian health information and introduce clinical guardrails into conversations.
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Ms McMahon told the summit that Healthdirect was “working with Open AI directly” and had partnered with Infermedica and Skin Analytics to build “an app within ChatGPT”.
She said the goal was to improve the quality and safety of health information provided through generative AI systems.
“We add some actual guardrails into that, where there’s some limits in how that chat will work, and we set some rules that then the chat conforms to,” Ms McMahon said.
“We’re thinking about, if someone’s in chat every day anyway, what is it we can do to limit it making stuff up, align it to Australian clinical guidelines, and use clinically validated healthcare advice like ours.”
According Healthdirect’s formal announcement, the proposed experience would combine Infermedica’s triage technology, Healthdirect’s health information content and service directory, and escalation pathways to nurses and doctors.
“At any point in the conversation, the consumer can switch to talking to an Australian nurse through Healthdirect,” the announcement stated.
“The handover is seamless and can pick up from the chat.”
The proposal would also provide access to nearby services through Healthdirect’s National Health Services Directory and, potentially, skin cancer screening capabilities through technology developed by Skin Analytics.
Healthdirect said a consumer could ultimately photograph a skin lesion and receive information on whether it “could be benign, pre-malignant or malignant”, with referral and booking pathways available where appropriate.
Both Infermedica and Skin Analytics noted that Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration assessment processes were still underway.
Healthdirect stressed the project remained an early-stage proof of concept.
“The proof of concept starts with an invited group of consumers, whose experience will shape the guardrails, monitoring, necessary regulatory approvals and governance before any wider release,” it said.
Ms McMahon told summit delegates the organisation was still learning how consumers would use the technology and how governance arrangements should operate.
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“Of course, none of this is ever figured out. We’re learning, and every week it’s changing, frankly.”
The organisation said the initiative was designed around the principle that Australians should be able to access trusted health advice regardless of where they began their search for information.
“So, the idea of no wrong door is that when a consumer hits a spot for information or care or access, they should be connected to someone who can help them,” Ms McMahon said.
“If they happen to be in Core or Chat GPT, they can get us as well.”
The project would initially be tested with invited consumers before Healthdirect considered broader deployment.
“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,” Ms McMahon said.
“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.”