Utah authorises AI to write first-time acne prescriptions in US first
Nolla Health says Utah's AI regulator has approved a pilot letting its software issue initial acne prescriptions without a doctor signing each one — the first approval of its kind in the United States.
Utah has given Nolla Health regulatory approval for artificial intelligence to issue first-time prescriptions, the first clearance of its kind in the United States, Bloomberg reported on Monday (https://dailycaller.com/2026/10/05/ai-prescriptions-utah-nolla-health-acne).
The state’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy and Division of Professional Licensing co-signed the agreement, which permits Nolla’s AI to write initial prescriptions for topical acne treatments only — no oral medication, isotretinoin or hormone therapies (https://dailycaller.com/2026/10/05/ai-prescriptions-utah-nolla-health-acne).
The pilot launched on 5 October through the Nolla Derm app, open to Utah residents aged 18 and over with mild to moderate acne. Patients complete a 10- to 15-minute intake questionnaire and a face scan; the software grades acne severity and picks a treatment from eight approved topical formulations, with hard-stop conditions routing higher-risk cases to a physician (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/ai/utah-approves-1st-ai-pilot-to-issue-initial-prescriptions/).
Oversight tapers in stages: for the first 100 patients a doctor signs off on every AI-written prescription, before oversight shifts to retrospective reviews of prescription samples (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/ai/utah-approves-1st-ai-pilot-to-issue-initial-prescriptions/).
Nolla says licensed clinicians agreed with the AI’s recommendations in more than 96% of real-world cases, with only minor adjustments needed in the rest. The service costs $4.99 a month (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/ai/utah-approves-1st-ai-pilot-to-issue-initial-prescriptions/).
The approval extends Utah’s lead in AI prescribing: the state already lets Doctronic’s AI renew prescriptions for nearly 200 common chronic-condition medications and has approved a similar refill pilot for psychiatric drugs from Legion Health (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/ai/utah-approves-1st-ai-pilot-to-issue-initial-prescriptions/).
“AI will matter most in health care when it helps people get care they otherwise would not receive,” Nolla co-founder and chief executive Luis Wenus said in a news release (https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/from-skin-scan-to-prescription-ai-acne-prescribing-launches-in-utah).
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