Utah regulators on Monday announced a plan to allow an artificial intelligence product to evaluate patients and write new drug prescriptions without prior human review.
A startup called Nolla Health will launch an AI-powered service in the state that will assess a patient for mild-to-moderate acne treatment using a structured intake and by analyzing photos of their skin. The product may determine whether one of a list of low-risk drugs is appropriate. In the first stages of the pilot, the decisions of the AI will be reviewed by a licensed clinician who will sign off on prescriptions, but Nolla may eventually be allowed to prescribe drugs without this review. The company last year announced it raised $4.5 million from investors including General Catalyst, and Nolla aspires to direct treatment for a host of conditions using AI.
The new pilot is part of a significant expansion of a closely watched “AI sandbox” program that allows Utah’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy, or OAIP, to waive regulations for companies that want to test AI products under state supervision.
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