Medical licensing board wants AI prescription renewal system suspended
The state board that oversees the licensing of physicians has issued a statement opposing an artificial intelligence-powered prescription medication refill system it sees as endangering patients.
“Overseeing prescription refills is a task reserved for properly licensed medical practitioners for critical safety and clinical reasons,” reads a statement released April 20 by the Utah Medical Licensing Board.
Utah signed an agreement in January with AI medical startup Doctronic to test an AI-powered system to “automate routine, guideline-based prescription renewals” for Utah residents. It marked the first test in the nation of AI as an autonomous clinical decision-maker in the medical field.
The platform allows patients to get a routine medication refilled nearly instantly by chatting with an AI agent online rather than waiting days or weeks to get an appointment with their doctor.
The medical board asked that the program be “immediately suspended” pending further discussion.
Doctronic’s system facilitates 30-, 60- or 90-day renewals for medications already prescribed by a licensed provider, the agreement between the Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy on behalf of the state and the med-tech startup. The company has limited the types of medications it will refill to 191 commonly prescribed drugs — a list reviewed by independent pharmacists and the state.
In its letter to the Utah Department of Commerce, the Utah Medical Licensing Board said it was made aware of the agreement only after its implementation — when the system was already running and available for use.
“Each refill requires reassessment and clinical decision-making to safely adjust doses, monitor for side effects, contraindications or new drug interactions, and ensure the medication remains effective,” the board, composed primarily of physicians and surgeons, said. “Patients who continue refilling medications without assessment may remain on outdated or suboptimal therapy for months or years. There is a reason prescription refills require physician authorization.”
Eleven of the 14 doctors on the board signed the letter.
The board seemed particularly concerned that it was not consulted before the prescription system went into effect.
“It is imperative that professionals with medical backgrounds review all proposals prior to implementation to ensure these programs do not compromise patient safety,” the doctors wrote. “We must not allow AI or other financial motivations to override this obligation, yet that is precisely what occurred here.”
A spokesperson for Doctronic told online healthcare news organization Fierce Healthcare, “We are participating in the process as designed, with defined safeguards, physician oversight of every prescription in the first phase of the program and continued physician involvement throughout. We remain focused on demonstrating safe, evidence-based expansion of routine care access.”
The Doctronic system is currently operating in Phase 1 in which AI-generated prescription renewals are reviewed and approved by a licensed human physician before transmission to a pharmacy, according to state officials from the Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy. The platform does not handle controlled substances such as narcotic drugs. It is prohibited from modifying dosages or starting new prescriptions.