Copilot for Health Flopped. So Microsoft Dropped the "For" and Slapped on HealthEx.
Once again, Microsoft has shown that it doesn’t give a sh*t about healthcare. In a desperate attempt to catch up with OpenAI and Anthropic, Microsoft bolted HealthEx onto its old app to save the day.
This morning, in a desperate attempt to save the day and, most importantly, after finally waking up to OpenAI, Anthropic, and Amazon all having specialized health chatbots, Microsoft rebranded its old health app as Copilot Health.
Also this morning, HealthEx (an add-on app many of you might remember from Claude for Healthcare, released a few weeks ago) announced a partnership with Microsoft to power its Copilot Health chatbot. HealthEx is an app that connects to EHR systems, hospitals, and patient portals and, with patient permission, pulls a patient’s medical records.
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OK, back to HealthEx and Microsoft’s desperate attempts to be relevant in healthcare…
Have any of you heard of Copilot for Health before today? Probably not. But it was actually launched on October 31, 2025, three months before ChatGPT Health, Claude for Healthcare, and Amazon Health AI!
So why haven’t we heard much about it? Well, why would patients use it if it didn’t have access to their medical records? So finally, after four months, and after watching what OpenAI and Anthropic have done (not that there was anything especially groundbreaking there 🙄, as I pointed out in my ChatGPT Health review), Microsoft finally decided to sign with HealthEx to save the day, drop the “for,” and rebrand it as “Copilot Health.” 🤦
To me, this shows how little Microsoft cares about healthcare. They seemingly didn’t even pay attention to their own app until competitors came out with better products. (However, to cover up the embarrassment, Microsoft just released the 2025 Copilot Usage Report, which includes stories about how users are using Copilot for Health.)
But I don’t want to take anything away from the HealthEx sucess. My sincere congratulations to HealthEx and its CEO, Priyanka Agarwal, MD. It takes a lot of hustle to reach goals this impressive. 🎉
Anyway, f*ck Microsoft. Let’s talk about HealthEx and the importance of direct-to-patient interoperability.
My readers will remember that I extensively tested ChatGPT Health earlier this year, right after its big announcement, by uploading all my medical records. ChatGPT uses b.well, HealthEx’s competitor, to connect to EHRs. And that was a cool experience. But I also tried Claude for Healthcare, and honestly, connecting through HealthEx there felt a bit more seamless.
HealthEx and b.well both support the FHIR standard, IAL2 authentication, and OAuth 2.0 compatibility. In other words, once the patient is identified and authenticated, all that’s needed is a login to whatever EHR or patient portal they use, and voilà, all the data is there. It’s a beautiful thing.
But here’s where I have a serious question for Priyanka Agarwal, CEO of HealthEx. (I wanted to speak with her personally this week, but she was busy, for obvious reasons.)
Priyanka: As a patient, why do I need a Big Corporate Brother like Microsoft or Anthropic hovering over my shoulder, when I should be able to use your great technology to connect directly to my medical records through an API, then decide for myself what to do with those records? I should be able to use Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Excel spreadsheets, or, here’s a brilliant option, none of them. That’s the whole point. It should be the patient’s choice how to process their own data.
Isn’t that my prerogative and my choice as a patient, under the 21st Century Cures Act and just basic common sense? Why do I need to be on a corporate platform to do that? And in the case of ChatGPT and Claude, why do I need to pay for a subscription? They both say health features may also be available to free users, but then you get put on a waitlist, meaning you’re sent to the back of the line. It’s ridiculous.
It’s like going to the bathroom and getting a whole premium unboxing experience when all I need is some damn toilet paper. 🙂
Just give the API directly to patients. Please.
The ability to access patient data directly using HealthEx’s API technology would also be such a middle finger to monopolies like Epic, which hates, and allegedly blocks, interoperability efforts, according to the class-action lawsuit filed against Epic by a disability advocacy organization in Texas last week.
Priyanka, as a doctor, you understand the importance of giving patients the freedom to access their own data. You would be a hero. And it would be 100% in the spirit of the 21st Century Cures Act.
Do it as an additional option for users. The API is already built. It’s secure. It’s HIPAA-compliant. So what’s the problem?
I realize the problem may be that your partners, Microsoft and Anthropic, may not like it because they might see it as taking revenue away from them. But honestly, I don’t think that’s true. People who like Copilot will be using Copilot for Health, powered by HealthEx. People who like Claude will be using Claude for Healthcare, powered by HealthEx.
Do the right thing, Priyanka. Give patients open API access through HealthEx’s brilliant technology. It’s the right thing to do.
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👉👉👉👉👉 Hi! My name is Sergei Polevikov. I’m an AI researcher and a healthcare AI startup founder. In my newsletter ‘AI Health Uncut,’ I combine my knowledge of AI models with my unique skills in analyzing the financial health of digital health companies. Why “Uncut”? Because I never sugarcoat or filter the hard truth. I don’t play games, I don’t work for anyone, and therefore, with your support, I produce the most original, the most unbiased, the most unapologetic research in AI, innovation, and healthcare. Thank you for your support of my work. You’re part of a vibrant community of healthcare AI enthusiasts! Your engagement matters. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Maybe it's me, but I will never allow a chatbot to look at my medical records
Why Microsoft just doesn't have Josh Mandel MD build a freaking health app, he already created the Health Skillz and most of the specification that HealthEx is using he literally works for Microsoft!