Medical company announces program for 'AI-powered prescriptions' in Utah

Utah adults can now get an acne prescription from an AI app after a quick face scan, with no dermatologist appointment, under a pilot its New York-based maker says is the first in the country cleared by a state regulator to let AI issue initial prescriptions.

Users of Nolla Health's Nolla Derm app verify their identity, give consent, answer a health questionnaire and scan their face from five angles. Within 10 to 15 minutes, the system produces a treatment plan and, where appropriate, a prescription, at an introductory price of $4.99 a month. The company developed the program with Utah's Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy.

Doctor involvement shrinks as the rollout advances. Two physicians must approve each of the first 100 prescriptions before patients receive them. For the next 500 patients, the app prescribes on its own and a physician reviews every case afterward, at least weekly. In the final phase, doctors audit 10% of monthly prescriptions, plus any case involving side effects. Moving between phases requires 95% agreement with physicians, zero serious adverse events and written approval from the state.

The company pitches the program as a way around long waits and high costs for dermatology care, calling acne a low-risk, well-studied place to start. Patients can message a physician through the app at no extra charge.