In 2025, Congressman David Schweikert introduced the Healthy Technology Act. This bill suggests that AI systems could be allowed to prescribe medicines if they get strict approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and permission from each state. The Act shows growing trust in AI while pointing out the need for safeguards.
Supporters say AI prescribing could reduce medicine mistakes, improve healthcare efficiency, and lower the workload on doctors. For instance, Dr. Eric Topol, a well-known expert in digital medicine, said AI might find diseases earlier than people can and create treatments made just for each patient.
Right now, about one-third (32%) of U.S. medical practice leaders list AI tools, such as medical scribes, as their main tech focus in 2025. This is up from 13% in 2023, according to the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). This shows medical practices are putting more effort into tools that cut doctor workload and improve patient care.
There are several possible benefits of AI in prescribing:
Dr. Topol says AI’s best help is not just cutting errors or workload but helping doctors spend more quality time with patients. By doing routine work, AI lets doctors focus on the human side of care.
Even with these benefits, there are important ethical and legal worries about AI prescribing that healthcare leaders must think about.
One big worry is if AI might replace the careful decisions a doctor makes, especially in hard cases. AI can work quickly with data but may not have the feeling and understanding needed for good medical choices. Some fear that people might rely too much on AI and forget about doctor experience.
Health information is very private and protected by laws like HIPAA. AI has to manage a lot of patient data, which raises risks of hacking or misuse. AI systems must have strong security, like encryption and constant checks, to keep patient data safe and follow legal rules.
AI learns from data. If that data is not balanced or well-made, AI might keep or increase unfair treatment. This could lead to wrong advice or bad care for certain groups, making healthcare inequalities worse.
Many AI programs work like a “black box” where it is hard to understand how they decide. This can be risky for patient safety and makes it tough to know who is responsible if AI makes mistakes. Current laws do not clearly say if the makers, doctors, or others are liable when AI causes harm.
Because of these issues, experts say we need rules for AI prescribing. These rules should include open and clear AI processes, good record keeping, and regular checks to ensure fairness and usefulness.
As AI grows in clinical work like prescribing, there is more interest in using AI to automate healthcare office tasks. Front-office work involves patient calls, setting up appointments, and answering questions. AI automation can help a lot here.
Companies like Simbo AI focus on front-office phone automation and answering services using AI. By managing patient calls and scheduling well, healthcare offices can cut down wait times, stop missed appointments, and make patient experiences better. This kind of automation supports wider use of AI in healthcare by making work easier and faster for staff.
For healthcare managers and IT teams, front-office automation can:
As AI becomes smarter, it can connect with electronic health records (EHRs) and decision-making tools, which improves prescribing accuracy and office function.
The future of AI prescribing depends heavily on U.S. laws that protect patient safety, privacy, and ethics. The Healthy Technology Act is one early step but more detailed rules are needed.
Healthcare groups should work with policymakers, developers, and doctors to create rules that:
This approach helps AI progress safely without harming patient rights, privacy, or fairness.
Dr. Eric Topol said AI can find health problems that humans might miss. He stressed that AI should help doctors, not replace them. He said, “The greatest chance AI offers is to bring back the important and time-tested connection—the human touch—between patients and doctors.”
Medical leaders now put more focus on AI tools like medical scribes that help with paperwork. This lets doctors have more time for patients and lowers tiredness from too much paperwork, which is a big cause of burnout.
Experts in heart medicine such as Stephen Lewin and Riti Chetty point out the need for strong rules to protect data privacy, get patient consent, and use AI responsibly over time.
The MGMA’s 2025 survey shows 32% of leaders view AI as a top priority. This means healthcare managers are working to find tools that bring tech benefits while keeping patients safe.
For practice owners, managers, and IT staff in the U.S., bringing in AI prescribing tools involves many real steps:
Because rules are changing and technology moves fast, healthcare leaders must stay aware, flexible, and ready for AI changes in their work.
AI in prescribing offers future chances to improve healthcare but must be balanced with care. The Healthy Technology Act of 2025 shows progress toward letting AI play a formal role in medical decisions but also points out the need to keep ethical focus.
When practices think about using AI, especially for front-office tasks like those offered by Simbo AI, they join others working toward safer and more efficient healthcare.
By keeping AI clear, protecting data, and centering human judgment, healthcare can use AI to improve both how work is done and patient care without losing trust or ethics. The choices healthcare managers and IT staff make now will decide how well AI changes prescribing and healthcare in the U.S. in coming years.
The Healthy Technology Act of 2025 is a bill introduced by Congressman David Schweikert aimed at allowing artificial intelligence (AI) systems to qualify as practitioners that can prescribe drugs, under specific conditions.
Key provisions include that AI must be approved by the FDA and the respective state must authorize its use for prescribing medication.
Proponents argue AI can reduce medication errors, enhance efficiency, provide personalized treatment, and alleviate physician burnout by automating routine tasks.
Critics raise concerns about the loss of human judgment, data privacy risks, potential fraud, exacerbation of biases, and liability issues with AI-related errors.
AI is transforming healthcare through applications like diagnostic imaging and AI-powered medical scribes that document encounters and manage records.
AI medical scribes automate documentation, reducing administrative burdens, improving accuracy, and allowing clinicians to devote more time to patient care.
The adoption of AI scribes has accelerated, with a significant increase in prioritization among medical practice leaders, reflecting their growing importance in healthcare.
AI offers benefits such as improved diagnostic accuracy, enhanced patient safety, and increased workflow efficiency, ultimately leading to better healthcare delivery.
With AI prescribing, ethical considerations include patient safety, the integrity of medical decisions, and maintaining the doctor-patient relationship.
Dr. Topol emphasizes that AI’s greatest potential lies in restoring the human connection and trust between patients and doctors, not just in reducing errors or workloads.