Utah is the first state to automize prescription refills through an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven platform: Doctronic. No active doctor reviewing in real time. No healthcare provider oversight. Just AI. The AI-driven platform originally went live in late 2023, but it was not until December 2025, that the state of Utah partnered with the platform to provide care to the residents of Utah.
How Does Doctronic actually work?
The patient completes a questionnaire regarding their symptoms and medication history; subsequently, the interface determines whether a prescription renewal is appropriate. The initial prescription must be written by a doctor, and the program is limited to 190 maintenance drugs that it can refill. Painkillers, injectables, controlled substances and substances for attention disorders are excluded.
What Problems Does it Aim to Solve?
Three in four Americans navigate life trying to manage their chronic conditions.[1] Yet people can wait up to an entire month for a primary care visit in several states. This lapse in care results in delays in therapy. Indeed, it is common for a provider to see the patient for a follow up appointment when starting a new therapy, or before approving refills for a maintenance medication. Those of us working behind the counter see first-hand, the prevalence and complexity of this issue. Medication adherence is far more than a term providers lecture patients about. Medication non-adherence is the single, most preventable healthcare crisis that burdens Americans, and it is responsible for approximately 125,000 deaths and accounts for 10% of hospitalizations annually.[2]
A common reason for non-adhearance is patients simply not understanding why they are taking the medication and its significance. This is where pharmacists can fill in the gaps and provide adequate counselling at the pharmacy counter. However, automating the prescription renewal process and removing a health care provider completely, does not foster an environment for thorough, personalized counseling. This could potentially lead to unfavorable outcomes when managing chronic conditions. How well can AI communicate the importance of medication adherence when the encounter is not even face-to-face?
Doctronic also boasts an anonymity feature, and claims that no data is stored in their records. This could present obvious challenges, as there would be no opportunity to follow up between visits, and no access to medication history beyond what the patient provides, which often is inaccurate or incomplete.
Can a patient-AI relationship rival a patient-provider relationship?
There have been legitimate concerns raised by several organizations as to the clinical soundness of this program. The Utah Academy of Family Physicians stated “[w]ithout the involvement of a trained healthcare provider, we risk the possibility of negative drug interactions…lack of clarity around how and when a patient will be referred to their physician, and the risk of misuse or abuse.”
The intake survey places a considerable amount of responsibility on the patient to be able to self-identify their symptoms, and to recount which medications they are currently taking as well as the appropriate dose. From my experience, the amount of patients who could independently do so, is few and far between.
More importantly, if Doctronic can supply up to 90-day supplies for refills, is it possible for a patient to go extended periods of time without visiting their primary care provider? Does this inclusion of AI come with the tradeoff of valuable patient-provider relationships? Is it a possible answer to the barriers people face to visit providers, or does it reinforce the growing mistrust of healthcare providers?
Final Thoughts: Advancing With Caution
These questions, and several more, should be carefully considered before other states join Utah and fully integrate AI into their healthcare practices as a provider. We will continue to monitor developments and update the community accordingly.
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-disease/about/index.html
[2] https://psnet.ahrq.gov/issue/hospital-admissions-associated-medication-non-adherence-systematic-review-prospective
As Told By a Pharmacist 
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