Utah announced a first-of-its-kind partnership on Tuesday that allows patients with long-term conditions to refill prescriptions using artificial intelligence.
The Utah Department of Commerce’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy partnered with health-tech startup Doctronic for the program that began last month.
Doctronic, founded in 2023, offers a personal AI doctor that is trained on peer-reviewed medical sources. The success of the pilot program will be evaluated based on refill timeliness and adherence, patient access and satisfaction, safety outcomes, workflow efficiency, and cost impacts.
“This agreement marks the first state-approved program in the country that allows an AI system to legally participate in medical decision-making for prescription renewals, an emerging model that could reshape access to care and ultimately improve care outcomes,” the state said in a news release.
Doctronic co-CEO Matt Pavelle said the partnership will demonstrate how AI can improve care access and health outcomes.
“This partnership with Utah enables patients, pharmacists, and physicians to work together more efficiently with measurable results that benefit the entire healthcare system,” Pavelle said in the release.
The autonomous AI program allows patients to order refills quickly to reduce missed doses and care disruptions.
The company’s philosophy underscores its commitment to privacy, noting that its operational framework is compliant with HIPAA.
However, the pioneering partnership has been met with cautious optimism by Dr. John Whyte, CEO and executive vice president at the American Medical Association, in a statement to Politico.
“While AI has limitless opportunity to transform medicine for the better, without physician input it also poses serious risks to patients and physicians alike,” Whyte said.
The Doctronic website includes a disclaimer that, “While it’s highly accurate, it does make mistakes, and it should always be used in consultation with licensed human doctors.”