Digital Health in 2026 has moved from a “cool trend” to a high-stakes business and clinical reality.

On January 7, 2026, OpenAI announced ChatGPT Health, including the ability to connect medical records and wellness apps—bringing patient data integration and AI-assisted health workflows into the mainstream conversation. 

For product teams, that acceleration creates two immediate pressures:

Trust & data governance (how data is collected, stored, shared, and audited)

IP & competitive risk (who owns the workflows, integrations, and system-level claims)

If your roadmap is set before you review the patent landscape around your core clinical workflows, you may be innovating into someone else’s claim scope.

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