Claude Is My $20/Month Genetic Counselor Assistant

I started my private practice one year ago. I had been thinking about it for at least three years, but what finally pushed me to take the leap was my husband leaving his job to build a healthcare compliance software company (not sexy, but necessary). It felt like the right time to try something new alongside him. AI tools were becoming more accessible, so I figured I would start there.

A year in, I can honestly say that without Claude and ChatGPT, I would not have my practice. I know that is a strong statement. I also know a lot of people feel negatively about AI, and not without reason. It is replacing jobs. The environmental costs are real and should not be swept under the rug. The lack of oversight over these companies is genuinely concerning. I am not turning a blind eye to any of that.

But there is always a pros and cons list. On the pro side, AI has given non-programmers the ability to try new things, build ideas into reality, and get support with everyday tasks in a way that did not exist before. That matters a lot to me. I work part-time, run a private practice, manage CEU Compass, and have a family and, ideally, a social life. Without AI I could not manage all of it. I have also pushed myself in ways I did not expect, tried things that were completely new to me, and genuinely feel excited about what is ahead for SHG, for CEU Compass, and for GCs in general. These tools, used thoughtfully, can make a real difference.

I am an AI user, not an AI expert. Just a regular GC working from home, trying to make things more manageable. Here is what I use and how.

Claude

Every weekday morning, Claude scans my Gmail, labels junk, and flags anything that needs follow-up. If a patient has reached out through my website, it drafts the reply directly in my Gmail drafts, personalized with their first name, my booking link, and a full description of what the evaluation covers. I review it and send it.

It pulls my Google calendar and tells me what the day looks like, noting any upcoming meetings and with whom. It also pulls a summary of patient inquiries from Gmail: how many came in, what they were asking about, who ends up booking an appointment. Any patterns worth knowing. Once a patient has been seen, Claude drafts a follow up email, thanking them for trust and asking for feedback.

Claude has access to my Google Drive. Blog drafts, LinkedIn posts, and provider outreach templates all get saved directly to organized folders. I have templates for OB/GYN practices, PCPs, and hEDS specialists. When I am ready to send a cold email, I open the template and fill in the name.

Every Monday it searches for new CEU opportunities for genetic counselors and saves a list with links and descriptions to my CEU Compass folder. 

Once a month it checks for GC licensure changes across the 20 states I practice in and flags anything that could affect where I can see patients. And it reads my bookkeeping spreadsheet and sends me a P&L: prior month income versus expenses by category, YTD totals, and anything flagged as pending or outstanding.

None of this required coding. I played around with Claude and it did 95% of the work for me. Now that it's set up, the system runs on its own from there.

Open Evidence

Open Evidence is an AI tool trained on medical literature. When I need a quick literature check or want to confirm I am not missing something on a complex case, it is faster than PubMed and more reliable than a general Google search. It is not a replacement for clinical judgment, but for a quick reference check it works well.

Fathom

Fathom records and transcribes my meetings and webinars and generates a summary I can review after. I do not have to take notes during a session or spend time writing them up afterward. It runs in the background and the notes are there when I need them.

ChatGPT

Most people do not know this: ChatGPT has a free version for licensed healthcare providers. If you have an NPI, you can access it through their healthcare portal. It is useful for drafting, summarizing, and quick reference.

There are so many tools out there and ultimately what works for me, may not work for someone else. This is a short list of some of the tools that I’ve played around with and found genuinely helpful. I would love to hear from others using AI. What tools have made the biggest impact on your day-to-day, and why?