Utah has become the first state to let an artificial intelligence (AI) program prescribe medication without a doctor writing the prescription, starting with acne treatments.
New York City-based Nolla Health began offering AI-generated prescriptions to Utah patients on Oct. 5, the Los Angeles Times reports. The pilot covers only eight topical acne medicines, not pills.
Patients scan their face with Nolla’s app and fill in their medical history. The software studies their skin, rates how oily it is, and scores the acne from clear to severe. It then weighs that score against the patient’s health details, picks a treatment, and sends the prescription to a pharmacy.
Normally, only doctors, some nurse practitioners, and physician assistants can prescribe drugs.
Utah set aside its law requiring a licensed prescriber for this pilot. Each prescription will still carry a clinician’s name, even though no person writes it, Nolla CEO Luis Wenus told the LA Times.
Doctors will check the AI’s work in stages. A physician will review prescriptions for the first 100 patients before they go out. For the next 400 patients, the AI will send out prescriptions on its own, and a physician will review them weekly afterward.
After that, a physician will spot-check at least 10 percent of prescriptions once a month.
Wenus argued that acne creams and gels carry little risk. The most likely side effects are redness, dryness, or peeling, and some of the drugs are already sold over the counter.
“The possible adverse reactions are just much, much lower risk than many other drugs,” he said.
The company is pitching the app as a cheaper option. The pilot program in Utah costs about $5 a month for the app, and custom-mixed (compounded) medicines run about $50 a month. A typical dermatologist visit costs $150 to $300.
Dr. John Whyte, CEO of the American Medical Association, said AI tools can help but shouldn’t practice medicine on their own.
“If they are, then they need to be held to very high standards, just as humans are,” Whyte told the LA Times. “And I don’t think they can meet that burden.”
Utah’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy also approved pilots from two other companies, Healthcare Dive reports.
August AI would use AI to refill medicines for people with long-term health conditions. Expect Fitness would offer virtual pelvic floor therapy for women with urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, or pelvic floor problems after childbirth.
Both need written approval from regulators before reducing human oversight.
Utah drew criticism earlier for letting a company called Doctronic use AI to renew prescriptions doctors had already written. The Utah Medical Licensing Board protested that it wasn’t consulted and warned the pilot put residents at risk.
The state kept the program but dropped two drugs from its list.
Nolla was the first company to meet with the licensing board before getting the green light, the LA Times reported. As a result, a physician chosen by the board will oversee prescription reviews.
The pilot runs for one year and could be renewed for two more.
While AI-driven acne prescribing is not yet widely available to all Americans, it has the potential to reduce barriers to dermatologic care for Black patients. Many communities still face limited access to dermatology specialists because of provider shortages, geographic barriers, longer wait times, and insurance-related challenges.
Tools like August AI may help accelerate access to treatment when specialist care is difficult to obtain. However, the effectiveness of AI-assisted dermatology depends on how well these systems perform across diverse patient populations. If algorithms are not adequately trained and validated on darker skin tones, they risk missed diagnoses, inaccurate assessments, or delayed treatment.
As AI becomes more integrated into dermatology workflows, clinicians will play a critical role in ensuring these tools are used appropriately and that patients receive equitable, high-quality care.
As August AI expands its footprint in AI-assisted prescribing, several questions remain. Clinicians should monitor emerging evidence pertaining to clinical validation, performance across diverse skin types, regulatory oversight, liability considerations, and appropriate physician supervision.
As adoption grows, ongoing evaluation of outcomes across different patient populations will be essential to ensuring these technologies benefit all patients, including historically underserved communities.
More information
Visit the U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for more information about acne.
SOURCES: Los Angeles Times, Oct. 5, 2026; Healthcare Dive, Oct. 6, 2026
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