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Utah Lets AI App Issue Initial Acne Prescriptions

The state approved a controlled pilot to test whether an AI can speed routine dermatology care by using staged physician oversight that reduces prior human review.

Overview

  • Nolla Health launched the pilot on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, letting adults in Utah with mild-to-moderate acne use the Nolla Derm app to get a treatment plan and a prescription without a prior doctor visit.
  • Users complete a 10-to-15-minute intake and a face scan, and the AI can pick from a short, physician-approved formulary of topical treatments with prescriptions delivered within minutes for a $4.99 monthly fee.
  • Physician oversight is phased: two doctors must approve every AI prescription for the first roughly 100 patients, the system moves to after-the-fact daily reviews through about 500 patients, and then doctors audit a sample of prescriptions thereafter.
  • Nolla says clinicians agreed with the AI’s recommendations in more than 96 percent of cited real-world cases but that figure is company-reported and has not been independently verified.
  • Utah has already allowed other AI prescribing pilots for renewals and refills, so regulators view this as a narrow, closely monitored test of expanding AI authority rather than a national change in prescribing rules.