The Utah Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy (OAIP) has approved a new pilot program with Doctronic a health technology company using AI to simplify the prescription refill process.
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Through this initiative, Doctronic’s AI will strive to automate routine, guideline-based prescription renewals—the kind of administrative work that often slows down clinics. By safely delegating these repetitive tasks to AI, the system could lighten clinician workload, improve refill continuity, and expand patient access—all while maintaining the same safety and quality standards patients expect.
Under Utah’s new regulatory relief agreement, Doctronic’s AI will operate within strict parameters and with physician oversight. The system can process 30-, 60-, or 90-day renewals for medications that have already been prescribed by a licensed provider.
Doctronic will roll out their AI tool in a three-phased comprehensive review process. During each phase there will be extensive identity and prescription verification protocols to prevent misuse as well as patient privacy protocols to prevent incidental disclosures. Licensed professionals will oversee the implementation of AI tools. The AI will not issue new prescriptions, handle controlled or addictive substances, or make changes to treatment plans. Doctronic doctors will follow up with individual patients as needed.
Prescription renewals make up a large portion of healthcare’s daily administrative load. By automating these safe, routine requests, Doctronic hopes to help doctors focus more on patient care, reduce delays, and make it easier for patients to stay on track with their medications.
The Doctronic prescription tool has been live in Utah for approximately three months. While the state does not endorse or promote any particular product, given the significant public attention on this pilot, the Office of AI Policy is providing the following update from a regulatory oversight and evaluation perspective.
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Data received — To date, the Office has received two monthly reports from Doctronic, which are in substantial compliance with the contractual agreement. The scope of data collection has been adjusted by mutual agreement as the pilot has progressed -- initially prioritizing core safety metrics, with planned expansion to economic and public health outcomes, including effects across specific patient populations. This remains aligned with the intent of the original contract.
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Safety — To date, no serious safety incidents have been reported to the Office by either Doctronic or the public. Doctronic has provided analyses of cases where its system and supervising clinicians disagreed, using a previously published medical risk rating framework; reported cases have been categorized as “no risk,” “minor risk,” or “minor-to-moderate risk.” A third-party red teaming report identified potential vulnerabilities under adversarial usage. The Office’s review indicates that the pilot’s guardrails substantially limit the likelihood of harm to typical users, and hard stops are in place to prevent unauthorized dispensing of controlled substances. The Office has also received non-safety-related customer support inquiries, which have been referred to Doctronic.
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Pilot progress — The pilot remains in Phase 1, in which all prescription requests require authorization by a licensed medical practitioner. As the pilot is in its early stage, additional time is needed before drawing firm conclusions about overall performance.
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Measurements of benefit — The Office does not yet have robust evidence on benefits, as most outcome measures are scheduled for later phases once safety is further established. The Office has received anecdotal feedback describing potential benefits, including multilingual support, 24/7 availability, immediate feedback on requests, and more thorough collection of medical history where applicable. Some pharmacists have noted operational convenience in cases where patients require prescription reauthorization.
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The Office continues to monitor the pilot under its statutory authority and may require modifications if warranted by observed risks.
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