Chatbots are now prescribing psychiatric drugs

Utah is piloting an AI system to prescribe psychiatric medications without human oversight, marking the second instance in the U.S. and a significant development in regulatory practice.
State officials highlight the potential benefits of reducing costs and easing care access for stable patients, given the severe shortage of mental health professionals in Utah, which leaves many residents without appropriate care.
The AI system, provided by Legion Health, is narrowly focused, limited to renewing refills for a specific range of 15 lower-risk psychiatric medications already prescribed by a clinician.
The pilot restricts participation to stable patients and mandates regular check-ins with healthcare providers, ruling out new prescriptions and high-risk or controlled substances like ADHD meds and benzodiazepines.
Psychiatrists express significant concerns about the safety and transparency of AI prescribing, emphasizing the need for greater scrutiny, scientific validation, and caution about the system’s risk of over-treatment or mismanagement.

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