The US state of Utah has recently approved a groundbreaking healthcare pilot involving an AI medical system developed by startup Nolla Health. It is described as the first AI tool in the United States to receive regulatory approval to prescribe medication independently, without prior approval from a human doctor, marking a new phase in autonomous AI diagnosis and treatment.
The system is currently available through Nolla Derm, a mobile dermatology app. Adult users in Utah complete a medical history questionnaire on their phones, which takes about 15 minutes, and undergo a facial image scan. The system then uses multimodal AI technology based on Vision Transformers, drawing on data from more than three million clinical cases to assess their skin conditions and generate prescriptions within minutes.
Once users receive a prescription, they can choose home delivery or collect their medication from a pharmacy. Unlike traditional telemedicine, where prescriptions still require final sign-off by a human doctor, Nolla’s system can make diagnostic and treatment decisions independently within a defined scope. However, regulators have imposed strict risk controls: the AI may prescribe only topical medications on a list pre-approved by the medical team. It is prohibited from independently prescribing higher-risk drugs such as oral isotretinoin.
If the AI determines that a case is complex, or lacks sufficient confidence in its diagnosis, it automatically refers the patient to a licensed human physician. The average wait for a dermatology appointment in Utah is reportedly 61 days, and only one in ten acne patients can access specialist treatment promptly. Nolla Health says it plans to expand its AI diagnosis and treatment services beyond dermatology to common conditions such as seasonal allergies and urinary tract infections.
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