Utah lets an AI app write first acne prescriptions

Oversight steps down in three stages. For the first 100 patients, two licensed physicians approve every AI prescription before it goes out. Up to 500 patients, the app prescribes directly and a doctor reviews each case afterwards, at least weekly. Then physicians check a monthly sample of at least 10%, plus every escalation or side effect. Each step needs 95% agreement with physicians, no serious adverse events and the state’s written approval.

Unite.AI, which read the agreement, says Utah’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy signed it on 22 September for 12 months, as regulatory relief rather than an endorsement. Oral medication, isotretinoin and severe acne are excluded, and pharmacies are told when a prescription came from AI. Office director Zach Boyd called the pilot a step forward for access under rigorous oversight, Medical Economics reports.

For health-tech builders, Utah’s sandbox now sets a template: a narrow condition, staged human review and a state that can halt the pilot.