Are you tired of leaving the doctor’s office more confused than when you walked in? In this episode of Next Act Ninjas, Dr. Rachael Van Pelt reveals how the brand-new GPT-5 can be your personal health advocate. Discover how this AI tool helps you unpack confusing diagnoses, prepare smarter questions for your doctor, and even connect your medical decisions to your financial future. Learn how to use AI to protect both your healthspan and wealthspan—so you can stay independent, informed, and in control of your Next Act.
Are you tired of leaving the doctor’s office more confused than when you walked in? In this episode of Next Act Ninjas, Dr. Rachael Van Pelt reveals how the brand-new GPT-5 can be your personal health advocate. Discover how this AI tool helps you unpack confusing diagnoses, prepare smarter questions for your doctor, and even connect your medical decisions to your financial future. Learn how to use AI to protect both your healthspan and wealthspan—so you can stay independent, informed, and in control of your Next Act.
📅Free GPT Health Advocate cheat sheet https://mailchi.mp/inplacepro/gpt-5-health-advocate
Chapters
00:00 Health Advocacy with AI
02:32 The Power of GPT-5 in Healthcare
05:42 Navigating the New Doctor-Patient Dynamics
08:28 Empowering Patients with Preventive Strategies
11:41 Building Your "Personal Health Narrative"
13:46 Learning How to Collaborate with GPT-5 to Improve your Health
15:04 Starting the Health Conversation with ChatGPT
Hey, hey, welcome back to Next Act Ninjas, the go-to podcast for mastering your health and wealth longevity. I'm your host, Rachael Van Pelt. Today, we're going to talk about how to use ChatGPT to improve your healthcare. Because if you've ever walked out of a doctor's office feeling a little dazed and confused, like you were just hit with a wall of medical jargon, half answers, maybe a tight smile from your provider, you're not alone. I've been there too. You nod along, you think you understand, but by the time you get to the parking lot, the questions start bubbling up. What exactly did she mean by "mild structural changes"? Is that bad? Should I be worried? And wait, what exactly are my next steps?
Now, up until recently, you really only had two options in that moment. Option one, go home, dive into Google, fall head first into that black hole of medical misinformation, clickbait headlines, and forum horror stories. Option two, you call the doctor's office back, leave a message, and just hope someone gets back to you within the next few days with a clearer answer.
But now there's a third option. And honestly, it's the one I'm most excited about for people in our stage of life. Because the newest version of ChatGPT, GPT-5, which just released this month, is not a fancier Google search. It's an active thought partner. It's a context-aware, precision-driven collaborator. One that can patiently help you unpack what's going on with your health, understand your choices, and prepare you for appointments. It can even make sense of the advice that you're getting from your doctors.
And here's why that's so important. Once you hit your late 50s and beyond, you realize that your health decisions and your financial decisions are completely intertwined. Your healthspan, the years you live in good health, and your wealthspan, the years your money will comfortably last, they're dancing partners. If one stumbles, the other will follow. That's why using a tool like GPT-5 for health advocacy isn't just about feeling more informed, it's about protecting your quality of life, your independence, and your financial stability.
So I want to start with why GPT-5 feels so different from what we've seen so far. Earlier versions of ChatGPT were smart, of course, but they often missed nuance. You'd ask a question about your specific situation, and you'd get a generic answer. It would feel like something copied from a textbook.
GPT-5 on the other hand can hold on to your context, any context you give it. You can tell it your age, your relevant medical history, your current medications, what you've already discussed with your doctor, and it's going to keep all that information in the conversation. That means when you follow up with it a few days later or even a few weeks later, you can follow up with something like, "Okay but what about for someone like me who also has osteopenia and a history of kidney stones"? It doesn't lose track of all the information you already inputted. It can adjust the explanation so it's not only accurate, it's relevant.
And that's a huge shift because in healthcare, context is everything. The same diagnosis can mean completely different things depending on your age, your other health conditions, your activity level, and even your personal preferences.
So give you an example. Just imagine that your partner has been diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer. At the appointment, the urologist rattles off a list of options like watch-and-wait or radiation therapy or hormone therapy or even surgery. You're given a packet of information but the language feels dense and overwhelming. The stakes are high, aren't they? In the past, you might have just gone home and simply Googled "What's the best prostate cancer treatment"? And then you'd find yourself buried in conflicting advice, most of which probably wasn't tailored to your 68-year-old spouse with mild heart disease.
But now with GPT-5, you can feed in relevant details, your partner's age, their general health, specific diagnosis, even a Gleason score from the prostate biopsy if you have it. Then you ask GPT to "Explain all the treatment options for someone with this diagnosis". You can ask what's the likely recovery time? How might each option affect quality of life? And what are the long-term risks? You can even ask GPT to summarize its output in fifth grade language for you. You can ask it to create an "appointment prep" document, one that you can easily download and print out so that when you walk into your next appointment, you'll have a list of informed questions for the doctor.
And here's where the wealthspan connection comes in. Different treatment paths don't just have different medical outcomes, they also have different financial implications. Some options may involve more follow-up scans, more time off work, or higher out-of-pocket costs, even if you have good insurance. GPT-5 can help you think through all those ripple effects. So you're not just making a medical decision, you're making a life decision.
Now you might be thinking, Rachael, OK, this sounds amazing, but aren't doctors going to hate this? And the short answer is yes, some will. Doctors always tell stories of patients walking into appointments with printouts from Google searches or social media testimonials convinced that they've cracked their own diagnosis. And let's be honest, it makes some providers defensive. They don't want to feel like their expertise is being second guessed by a website.
But here's where you as the patient have a powerful opportunity. The key is how you use that information, how you present it. You don't want to walk into their office announcing, "Hey, I've figured out my diagnosis"! Instead, you want to use GPT-5 to educate yourself so you can ask better questions and have a more productive conversation with your doctors. For example, instead of saying, "I think I need to be on medication X, Y, or Z because GPT-5 says it's the best". You say something more like, "I read about a few different options for people my age and with my condition and I'd just like to understand why you think this one is the right choice for me". That shifts the dynamic, doesn't it? From combative to more collaborative. You're just showing your doctor that you respect their expertise, but you're also letting them know that you want to be an active partner in your own care.
And let's be clear, most doctors actually appreciate informed patients, as long as the conversation stays respectful and curious rather than accusatory. The tension, I think, comes when patients use online research as ammunition rather than as a bridge. GPT-5 is a bridge builder. It will help you get clear on what you need to know so that you can enter the conversation more prepared, not primed for battle.
That being said, I recently went to a cardiology visit with my husband only to be met with defensive arrogance when I respectfully asked a few important questions. Sadly, the cardiologist just wasn't open to it. I mentioned this not to discourage you, but to say be prepared for a bit of pushback. Will this get better in the future? I think it has to. It's inevitable. Medical care is going to have to change to keep up with the age of intelligence.
If patients are better equipped to ask more knowledgeable questions and advocate for themselves, it's going to radically change the doctor-patient relationship. Moreover, if doctors don't learn to collaborate with patients and be a "value-add" beyond what AI offers, they're going to be replaced just like any other worker whose job can be automated. So don't be afraid to ask questions. Advocating for your health is absolutely critical at this stage of life.
As we age, the number of medical touch points in our life goes up. More screenings, more specialists, more medications means more potential for things to slip through the cracks and mistakes to be made. We can't forget that the third leading cause of death in the US is medical mistakes. And unless you have a family member who's a medical professional or you're lucky enough to have a concierge doctor with all the time in the world, there are going to be gaps. GPT-5 will help you fill those gaps fast, private, and of course tailored to you.
Say you had a bone density scan and your results show your T-score is in the osteopenic range. Your doctor says "There's nothing we can do right now, just keep an eye on it". But you're left wondering what does "keep an eye on it" even mean? Is there anything I can do now to slow the decline? Are there lifestyle changes or nutritional supplements worth considering before it tips into osteoporosis?
If you're asking those sorts of questions, that's amazing. That's terrific. You're on the right track and you're listening to the right podcast, because that's what we deal with here a lot, don't we? Most doctors are trained to diagnose disease and prescribe treatment after the fact. They avoid talking preventive strategies like exercise and nutrition. They're just not trained for that and they don't have the time. If you want to prevent decline, it's up to you.
Luckily, now you can sit down with GPT-5 and you can ask something like, "Given that I'm a 62-year-old postmenopausal woman with mild osteopenia, what are the most effective evidence-based strategies for maintaining or improving my bone health"? Just make sure you also provide other relevant health information like whether or not you're on estrogen therapy, exercising regularly, and so forth. Also specify that you want answers in plain language with scientific citations from reputable sources. You can even ask GPT to lay out a timeline. Ask what's worth trying first and what to discuss with your doctor at your next medical visit.
And here's where it gets really fun. When you go to your next appointment, tell your doctor, "I've been reading about a few options for improving my bone health. I'm thinking about resistance training, vitamin D optimization. Do you think those would help? Can I stay off of bisphosphonates? What do you think would be best for me at this stage"? Now, instead of being a passive recipient of advice, you're steering the conversation towards what matters most to you.
And look, if your primary care physician won't discuss preventive measures like exercise, nutrition, sleep, stress management, those wonderful pillars of healthspan, find a health coach who will. Someone like me or a functional medicine doctor who thinks holistically. Don't wait until you're diagnosed with disease. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
But the real long-term impact here goes beyond one doctor's visit. When you use GPT-5 consistently as a health partner, you start building what I call a "personal health narrative". You're not just reacting to every new diagnosis or lab result in isolation. You're creating an ongoing story about your health, one that connects the dots over time. This is especially valuable as you add more information. When you add new lab work, new medications, new diagnoses. AI is going to help you see patterns, notice trends. trends that specialists often miss because they operate in silos and miss the big picture. When you catch things early, you can course correct before those little problems turn into big, expensive ones.
That's where the wealthspan piece comes back in. One of the biggest drains on retirement savings is unplanned medical costs, especially when those costs come from conditions that could have been prevented or managed better if caught earlier. If GPT-5 helps you catch something six months sooner or helps you avoid an unnecessary procedure, that's not just good for your healthspan, that's money that stays in your pocket, and that's going to compound for many years to come.
But I want to also touch on something emotional. For many people, one of the hardest parts of navigating the healthcare system is feeling powerless, isn't it? You're told what to do, when to do it, how much it's going to cost, and it can feel like your only role is to say yes or no. But when you use GPT-5 to educate yourself, that sense of powerlessness starts to fade, doesn't it? You realize you can walk into any appointment knowing the vocabulary, the trade-offs, and the key questions to ask. That's not just about health literacy, it's about dignity. It's about being seen as a partner in your own care, not a passive subject. And for those of us who've spent decades making our own decisions in our careers, raising families, running businesses, that autonomy is a big deal.
Of course, there's an important piece to this. You do have to learn how to talk to GPT-5 to get the best results. Again, it's not your old-school Google search. You don't just throw random questions at it and hope for the best. You're going to get the most value when you treat your use of GPT-5 like a conversation with a real partner, a smart collaborator, one with medical expertise. Give it the details it needs. Be specific about what you want. Tell at your age, your health history, what your priorities are. If you care more about maintaining your independence and quality of life than about extending lifespan at any cost, say that. If you want to avoid medications unless absolutely necessary, say that too. The more context you give it, the more precise and relevant the responses will be.
So here's my challenge to you this week. Pick one health question that's been on your mind something that you wish you understood better about your own situation, or your partner's, and take it to GPT-5. Have a real conversation with it. Give it your medical history for context. Ask follow-up questions. See if you can walk away with a clearer understanding and at least three informed questions that you can bring to your next medical appointment.
To help you get started, I've even created a one-page cheat sheet with some plug-and-play prompts that you can use to start that conversation with GPT-5. You'll find the link in the show notes. And remember, this isn't about replacing your doctor. It's about leveling the playing field so you can work together toward the same goal, which is of course keeping you healthy, independent, enjoying life for as many years as possible. That's the essence of healthspan. When you protect your healthspan, you protect your wealthspan as well.
I think that we're just at the very beginning of seeing how AI can serve as a trusted health advocate for individuals. And for our generation, that's not just a novelty, it's a lifeline. Because the more control we have over our health decisions, the better chance we have of creating our best Next Act, both physically and financially.
That's it for today. Thanks for joining me on another episode of Next Act Ninjas. Don't forget to grab that free GPT-5 Health Advocate downloadable and share this episode with a friend that you care about. Until next time, my friends, live well, love more, age less.