People in Utah can now use artificial intelligence to receive a prescription for acne treatment. On Monday, healthcare startup Nolla Health announced that users in the state can scan their faces using its app. This allows the artificial intelligence system to analyze acne severity and autonomously write a prescription, as reported earlier by Bloomberg.
The service is launching as a pilot program with gradually loosening physician oversight. Two physicians will approve each artificial intelligence generated prescription before they are issued for the first 100 patients. The process will shift so physicians start reviewing them only after they are prescribed for up to 500 patients. After that threshold, physicians review a sample of at least 10 percent of prescriptions every month, plus every case involving an escalation or side effect, according to Nolla Health.
Other firms test automated renewals
Several other healthcare companies are experimenting with artificial intelligence generated prescriptions in Utah. The state started allowing artificial intelligence systems to renew certain medications earlier this year. Nolla Health says it is the first company in the country to issue initial prescriptions rather than renewals.
The pilot is designed to complement, not replace, physicians. Nolla Health writes in its press release that by handling routine, low-acuity cases, Nolla Derm frees dermatologists to focus on complex, high-risk patients. The program costs $4.99 per month.
The service has specific limits
The offering applies only to Utah residents who are 18 years of age or older and have mild-to-moderate acne. Nolla Health says it will direct users to a physician if its artificial intelligence system cannot confidently select a treatment. The startup artificial intelligence can currently prescribe eight different skin treatments, according to Bloomberg.
