Insights from Sara Zywicki, Chief Product Officer, b.well Connected Health
Healthcare generates enormous amounts of data about each of us – imaging studies, lab results, diagnoses, medications, clinical notes. But this information is rarely consolidated in one place or explained in a way that connects the dots. Over time, that creates gaps not in access, but in understanding.
The Challenge: Fragmented Imaging History
My imaging history from the last five years spans four different providers:
- Annual mammograms (2021-2025)
- Chest CT (2022)
- Routine colonoscopy (2022)
- Neck CT (2021)
Each test made sense when ordered, but recalling details or sharing them with another provider would be challenging and frustrating.
Bringing Records Into One Place, Securely and Privately
Using ChatGPT Health, I connected my health records (via b.well), bringing imaging results from different providers into a single conversation. This didn’t change the data. It changed how I could interact with it. Instead of searching for individual reports and visit summary notes, I could ask:
- Show me a summary of my imaging studies from the last 5 years.
- Explain the test and my result in plain terms.
Why This Matters
For patients navigating cancer workups, rare diseases, or even common chronic conditions like high cholesterol, diabetes, or hypertension, this clarity can be transformative. It empowers informed decision-making when done right.
My own experience managing heart disease risk illustrates this. Like many, I was reluctant as a young adult to treat high cholesterol with medication despite family history. But I got serious about it after hitting that half-century milestone. Over several years with my primary care provider, I monitored lipids, checked my cardiac calcium score, started statin therapy, and adjusted dosing. I can’t recall the details of each step, but I could simply ask:
- Show me how my high cholesterol has been managed.
- Include lipid panel trends, when I started medication, and relevant tests.
Bringing those records together made it easier to see how imaging, labs, and treatment decisions informed one another, providing clearer context for reviewing my history and preparing for follow-up discussions.
Here’s a quick look at what years of fragmented data was able to show me about my cholesterol management:
On My Terms
What made this possible was consumer-mediated health data exchange. I authorized retrieval of my records from the source. I pulled the information on my terms and brought it into a tool that works for me.
The Path Forward
Healthcare data already exists. What’s been missing is a practical way for individuals to consolidate disparate records and extract personalized, contextual meaning from them.
Conversational AI, powered by consumer-mediated exchange, changes that equation. It doesn’t replace clinical guidance, but it does enhance my ability to understand my own health story, ask better questions, and participate more fully in my care.
