Utah to become first state to let AI examine patients and prescribe acne medication
The AI doctor will see you now: acne sufferers will now be treated by artificial intelligence after Utah became the first state to implement new rules that allow the model to examine patients.
While many might say that medical doctor is one of the few professions safe from being taken over by AI, it now seems that the industry is already testing out methods for which it can be helpful to patients.
Through a new program, the technology will be able to offer examinations and prescriptions to patients, although it will currently be limited to mild-to-moderate acne sufferers.
The testing is being piloted by Nolla Health, which describes itself as the ‘first end-to-end AI doctor’, with its website writing: “Intelligent, AI-powered healthcare and custom prescriptions that adapt to your skin.”
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AI prescriptions are now live on the site for people who live in Utah, with the process allowing people to pay $4.99 a month, where their face is scanned by the AI to identify their acne problem.
Nolla Health explains: “AI helps organize your symptoms and health history, analyze skin scans, track changes over time, and prepare information for clinician review. It also helps you understand your health questions and explore possible next steps.”
The plan is for the program to be fully operated by AI with no human intervention but, while it is in its early stages, human doctors are reviewing the bot’s analyses before they are sent out as prescriptions.
The first 100 analyses will be double checked by human professionals before the prescription is written, while the next 400 will be reviewed after the medication script is sent to the pharmacy.
After this, physicians will ‘review a sample of at least 10% of prescriptions every month, plus every case involving an escalation or side effect’.
In a press release, Nolla Health stated: The pilot is designed to complement, not replace, physicians. By handling routine, low-acuity cases, Nolla Derm frees dermatologists to focus on complex, high-risk patients.”
However, this news has led to some people concerned of what this could mean for the future, with many taking to social media to share their own reactions.
On Reddit, one user wrote: “AI operating without humans to make medical decisions is not a good thing in any universe.”
And another added: “This sounds terrifying.”
Experts continue to express concerns about the advancement of AI, with Anthropic boss Dario Amodei even urging the industry to ‘slow down’, amid fears that AI ‘swarms’ could take over the internet in as soon as six months.