I put this guide together because this process was helpful for me and my family, and I believe it will be helpful for others as well. In my experience, Claude does a good job of summarizing health information, creating medication lists, and outlining items for provider discussions. This tool has provided me with a useful supplement to my understanding of my own health data.

Important: This guide is for informational purposes only. AI-generated health summaries are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always discuss findings with a healthcare provider you trust. Your mileage may vary, so use this at your own risk.

How this works

This process uses patient-facing APIs that can be accessed by third-party applications. In this workflow, the third-party application is Health Skillz. It handles the encrypted download and handoff to Claude AI for analysis. The process uses well-established protocols and standards such as OAuth2 and FHIR.

Health Skillz was created and is maintained by Joshua Mandel, MD, a well-known health information subject matter expert. You can review the open-source code and decide whether the workflow is appropriate for your own situation.

A note on data privacy: your health data is downloaded to your local computer and handed off to Claude for analysis inside your Claude Desktop session. Review the Health Skillz source code and Claude's privacy practices if you have concerns about how your data is handled.

What you will need

  • Claude Desktop for macOS or Windows, available from claude.ai/download.
  • A Claude plan that supports the model and desktop capabilities you intend to use.
  • Your login information for your provider's portal.
  • Access to the email address or mobile number used for multi-factor authentication.

At the time this was written, this workflow works mainly for providers using MyChart by Epic. It may work for other provider portals as well. I have verified it with Duke Health, UNC, and WVU.

Instructions

  1. Update your Claude Desktop settings

    In Claude settings, navigate to Capabilities, then Code execution and file creation, then Domain allowlist. Change the setting to allow all domains. You may want to set it back to the more restrictive default after you finish.

  2. Open a Claude chat window

    Using Claude Desktop, open a new chat. This has been verified with recent Claude models, but it may work with other models too.

  3. Start the Health Skillz session

    Copy and paste this prompt into the Claude Desktop chat window:

    Please use the skill at https://health-skillz.joshuamandel.com/skill.zip : Start a session for me.

  4. Click the connect link

    After the skill is downloaded and processed, you should see a message saying that your session is ready. Click the "Connect your Health Records" link.

  5. Log into your provider portal

    A browser window will appear. Accept prompts until you reach the provider search screen. Search for your provider, select it, and log in with your normal portal credentials.

  6. Authorize access and repeat as needed

    Allow Health Skillz to access the records you want to include and choose a suitable access window. Repeat the provider connection process if you have records in multiple portals.

  7. Send your data to Claude AI

    After your download is complete, click "Send to AI." Then return to Claude and type "Done - Send to AI." From there, Claude can produce a summary and you can ask follow-up questions.

Watch for blind spots: records in unsupported provider systems will not be included in Claude's analysis. If all of your providers use supported portals, you may get a fairly complete picture, but you should still connect each provider where you have records.

Bonus tip: add wearable data

Consider incorporating wearable fitness device data, such as Whoop or Oura Ring exports, into the same chat session. This can give Claude more context about activity and sleep patterns and can help compare self-reported activity with information in the medical record.

Final thoughts

This kind of tool can produce varying results. There is potential for self-diagnosis or misunderstanding. On the other hand, it may help people identify issues to discuss with a clinician. AI is not perfect, but neither are humans. Always discuss this sort of information with a healthcare provider you trust.

Screenshots and notes

Claude settings screen for domain allowlist
Changing Claude's capability setting to allow all domains.
Claude prompt for starting a Health Skillz session
Adding the Health Skillz prompt to Claude.
Connect your health records link
Clicking the connection link after the session is ready.
Health Skillz landing page
Connecting one or more providers from the Health Skillz landing page.
Provider search screen
Searching for a health provider.
Selecting a provider connection
Selecting the provider from search results.
Provider login and authentication screen
Logging in and completing authentication.
Authorization screen for record access
Authorizing Health Skillz to access records.
Allow access screen
Fetching the selected records.
Send to AI button
Sending the downloaded data to Claude on your computer.
Claude analyzing health data
Asking Claude to begin examining the health data.
Claude health record summary
Asking for summaries, medication lists, or care discussion points.