This startup is issuing AI-generated acne prescriptions

Nolla Health on Monday began a pilot in Utah that allows eligible users to scan their faces in the startup’s app so its artificial intelligence can assess acne severity and generate a prescription. The company says its system can currently prescribe eight different skin treatments and will refer users to a physician when it cannot confidently select a treatment. The offering is limited to adults in Utah with mild-to-moderate acne and costs $4.99 per month.

The pilot is being rolled out with progressively reduced physician oversight. For the first 100 patients, each AI-generated prescription will be approved by two physicians before being issued. In the next phase, physicians will review prescriptions after they have been issued for up to 500 patients. Once the program reaches that stage, physicians will continue to review at least a 10% sample of prescriptions each month and will examine every case involving an escalation or side effect, Nolla says.

Nolla presents the pilot as complementary to clinicians’ work, saying the system is intended to manage routine, low-acuity cases so dermatologists can concentrate on more complex patients. The company also notes it is the first U.S. startup to issue initial prescriptions generated by AI rather than merely renewing existing medications, a distinction it highlighted in its announcement.

Utah has been a testing ground for medical AI tools: other healthcare firms are experimenting with AI-generated prescriptions and the state has allowed AI systems to renew certain medications earlier in the year. Nolla’s pilot will limit the role of its AI where it lacks confidence, routing such cases to physicians for further assessment.