Athenahealth patients can now ask Claude about their health records

Athenahealth, a healthcare company that serves over 20% of the US population, has connected patient records to Anthropic's Claude chatbot. Patients who opt in can ask Claude questions about their own medical information. The feature is called AthenaPatient MCP. It works only for people who pay for Claude Pro or Claude Max.

What changed

MCP stands for Model Context Protocol. In plain terms, it is a connector that lets an AI tool pull information from another service. Here, Claude can read a patient's health records after the patient signs in with their Athenahealth account credentials. Claude Pro costs $20 a month and Claude Max costs $100 a month.

What Claude can see

Sharing is not automatic. Patients choose which health information Claude can access, and they can cut off access at any time. Once a patient approves it, Claude can use these kinds of records when answering:

• Lab results and vitals
• Medications, allergies and immunizations
• Health conditions, procedures and care plans
• Visit history and diagnostic reports

What it is not for

Athenahealth says this is not medical advice and should not replace a clinician's judgment. Sam Lambson, a vice president of product management at the company, told ZDNET that patients should contact a qualified healthcare professional about diagnosis, treatment or changes to their care.

The tool looks built to help people understand what is already in their records. A patient could ask, "What was my most recent red blood cell count?" ZDNET notes that users should not expect Claude to explain what a high or low result might mean for them.

The privacy question

Health data is sensitive and valuable, and the deal gives one of the nation's largest AI companies a path to it. Athenahealth says its agreement bars Anthropic from using data accessed through this connection to train its models or improve its products. That is the company's description of the agreement, not something readers can check themselves.

What to do

Athenahealth patients who already pay for Claude can try it. Before connecting, decide which records you actually want Claude to see, and remember you can revoke access later. For any real decision about your health, ask your doctor.

What is not known yet

It is unclear whether tools like this will improve patient outcomes. A Pew Research Center survey found that 34% of US adults have talked with a chatbot for medical advice. It also found that Americans are not very confident about AI in healthcare, and the largest shares preferred that a human oversee it in clinical settings.