A pharmacy chain in Vermont implemented AI for efficiency
A pharmacy chain in Vermont and New York is facing backlash after implementing an AI tool for prescription refills that customers report is inaccurate and confusing. Users claim the system misidentifies medications and fails to provide necessary information, leading to privacy concerns and operational delays.
Why it matters
This highlights the risks of deploying unrefined AI systems in critical healthcare infrastructure, where technical errors can directly impact patient safety and medication access.
In voicemails, spam folders and text messages across Vermont, an artificial intelligence tool is filing through years of pharmaceutical records, incoherently listing drugs and requesting the wrong refills on sensitive medication.
And customers often have no idea they agreed to it.
“He calls you all the time, and he doesn’t say what the drug is,” said Kathy Callaghan, a Vermont customer of Kinney Drugs, referring to a new AI tool recently put to use by the Vermont and New York pharmacy chain.
Nearly every day, she recalled, her phone rings, and she hears an incomprehensive mutter of a drug from the AI voice. Confused, she approves the refill order, thinking the request is legitimate and she really is out of a prescription.
“I’ve got four bottles of something that I take twice a week sitting here,” Callaghan said.
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