Robot medical help is fairly common in sci-fi, ranging from Baymax in Big Hero 6 to the surgical bots in Star Wars that put Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader’s infamous black armor. Now, a subscription service in Utah has deployed the first AI doctor that can actually prescribe medication. 

Healthcare startup Nolla Health focuses primarily on skincare and acne treatment, and subscriptions cost $5 per month. According to Bloomberg, a patient uses an app to scan their face and fills out forms giving their medical history. AI software then analyzes the patient’s face and generates an acne severity score. If the scan and medical information indicate it, the patient receives a prescription for treatment from a list of eight approved treatments.

The pilot program is slated to last one year, Bloomberg reports. The first 100 prescriptions will be overseen by a board-certified physician before being sent to pharmacies. If that works, the next phase will allow the AI to fully treat 400 patients, with a physician reviewing the bot’s decisions weekly. The third phase involves the physician auditing at least 10% of written prescriptions once per month. 

A Nolla Health representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Michelle McOmber, CEO of the Utah Medical Association, told CNET in an email that Nolla Health didn’t need the Utah Medical Association’s approval to run this pilot program. 

“We never talked with them,” McOmber says. “The Office of AI Policy did have a short conversation with our current president, who is a dermatologist. OAIP also had the subcommittee of the Utah Medical Licensing Board look at [the plan] and comment.” 

The Office of AI Policy is part of the Utah Department of Commerce and is meant to guide responsible AI policies in the state.

McOmber says that this “very limited and very specific” use of AI is acceptable, but that the Utah Medical Association “would not be in favor of it being used for anything else at this time as it is.”

AI isn’t ready for more responsibility

Studies report that doctors, surgeons and mental health professionals are among the least likely professions to be replaced by AI. Even so, many medical professionals agree that the use of AI in the medical field is inevitable, either as a tool to assist human physicians or for simpler tasks, such as diagnosing acne or other skin conditions.

Some of those same medical professionals believe that AI in medicine is moving too quickly.

“We think people are trying to go too fast in using and relying on AI in healthcare,” McOmber said. “We do believe that AI, as a tool, can help physicians in different ways and that it will be used and even should be used.”

McOmber says human physicians should always be involved in patient care, whether it’s writing prescriptions or examining patients to diagnose conditions. AI in its current form is best for such simple tasks as gathering useful medical information and histories from patients, she says.

“Care decisions ultimately should rest with the physician in consultation with the patient,” McOmber says. “AI, if used inappropriately, can be very dangerous in healthcare.”

Joe is a freelance journalist. It all started with a long-running affection for building his own PCs, which he did for the first time as a teenager. It evolved into a lifelong enjoyment of putting words on the internet about the subject. He’s written for CNET, PCMag, Mashable and SlashGear as a freelance writer, and worked as a Senior Editor at Android Authority for 10 years. When he’s not writing about tech and science, he’s learning the ins and outs of DIY home repair, gaming, playing his bass guitars and posting help on PC building and gaming subreddits. He is a staunch believer that orange juice should have pulp.

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