Utah has cleared a healthcare system to begin issuing initial acne prescriptions without a doctor approving each prescription beforehand, marking a significant test of autonomous medical decision-making in the U.S.

The system, developed by New York-based health technology company Nolla Health, uses patient information and facial scans to select treatments from a limited set of physician-approved options. It cannot create its own treatment regimens, according to the company, and must hand a case to a licensed physician when it cannot confidently choose a treatment.

The autonomy will be introduced gradually. A physician will approve every prescription for the first 100 patients. During the next stage, covering the first 500 patients, the system will issue prescriptions autonomously while a physician reviews them afterwards each day. In the third stage, doctors will retrospectively review a sample of prescriptions once a week.

The pilot is available through the Nolla Derm app to Utah residents ages 18 and older. Patients complete a 10- to 15-minute questionnaire and a facial scan before the system assesses their skin and selects an acne treatment. Nolla says the process can produce a treatment plan and prescription within minutes.

The program was developed with Utah’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy under the state’s regulatory framework for testing new AI applications. Utah regulators have described the arrangement as a controlled pilot for evaluating technology that can assess acne and write new prescriptions without prior human review.

S. (and possibly the world) to receive regulatory approval for an AI to issue initial prescriptions.

Source link