Utah Medical Board strongly condemns AI prescription renewal program, asks to shut it down

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah Medical Board issued a letter late April condemning the use of AI for prescription refills, asking that a new program implementing the tech’s use be suspended.

The program, which the State of Utah and AI health platform Doctronic entered into an agreement to introduce, uses AI to allows “30-, 60-, or 90-day renewals for medications that have already been prescribed by a licensed provider.”

The system is intended to give patients with chronic conditions a faster way to refill medications. Back in January, when the State of Utah and Doctronic made the agreement, it became the first state-approved program in the United States to legally prescribe routine refills using an autonomous AI health platform.

“This partnership with Utah enables patients, pharmacists, and physicians to work together more efficiently, with measurable results that benefit the entire healthcare system. We hope other states follow Utah’s lead,” said Matt Pavelle, Co-CEO of Doctronic.

Now, nearly four months later, the Utah Medical Licensing Board has issued a letter stating that their agency was made aware of the agreement only after its implementation, once the system was already live and available for use.

How to make ABC4 your preferred news source on Google

The board is now condemning the AI program, saying that while they support the exploration of future implementation, they also “have a stewardship to protect Utah citizens” and are “tasked with protecting the public in the State of Utah.”

According to the medical board, while the program may seem innocuous, they believe the oversight of prescription refills is “a task reserved for properly licensed medical practitioners for
critical safety and clinical reasons.”

“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 letter from the board states.

They went on to say that patients who continue refilling medications without assessment may remain on outdated or suboptimal therapy for months or years.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,” the letter states.

They further stated that proceeding with the agreement without consulting the Utah Medical Board potentially places Utah citizens at risk, calling it a major concern of the board. The board said it’s “imperative” that professionals with medical backgrounds review all proposals prior to implementation.

The board said they must not allow AI or other financial motivations to override their obligation to protect Utah citizens, claiming this is “precisely what occurred here.”

“It is the strong recommendation of the Utah Medical Licensing Board that this program be
immediately suspended pending further discussion,” the letter states. “We look forward to working with the Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy to explore ways to safely implement AI in the practice of medicine.”

While the Department of Commerce declined to interview with ABC4 News on this matter, they did provide a response they sent to the board, which said in part, “your letter strongly recommended the immediate suspension of the Doctronic program pending further discussion. Because the pilot is currently in phase one — where a licensed physician reviews every refill decision, ensuring the program is already operating safely at the standard of care — we will not be suspending the pilot at this time.”

Doctronic Cofounder Dr. Adam Oskowitz provided a statement to ABC4 News Monday, which said “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.”

Latest headlines:

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.