Source: VTDigger

Kinney Drugs deployed an AI virtual assistant named Burt in May to handle prescription refill communications; customers in Vermont and New York report the tool has produced incoherent voicemail calls, requested wrong refills and dosages, failed to locate longstanding accounts, and missed notifications that refills were ready. These operational failures have coincided with longer delays between physicians ordering medications and pharmacies processing them, prompted some customers to leave the chain, and forced others — particularly in rural areas with limited alternatives — to accept a system they distrust. The AI was built by third‑party vendor Synerio; Kinney’s posted terms state that “Burt may not be accurate, complete or up‑to‑date,” and any customer who gives a telephone number is automatically consented to interacting with the tool though an opt‑out is available.

Legal and privacy concerns center on how patient data is shared with the vendor and whether existing rules sufficiently protect consumers: lawyers and privacy experts quoted say the technology is outpacing regulation. Vermont’s data privacy bill S.71 was signed on June 16 and takes effect in two years, a delay that advocates say leaves a compliance gap; commentators in the piece argue consent‑based regulation scattered across long terms and multiple documents is ineffective. Kinney says it maintains security controls and appropriate agreements (declining to disclose vendor contracts); Synerio asserts HIPAA compliance on its webpages but did not respond to requests. Public‑interest and academic voices in the article question whether business associate agreements and consumer consent meaningfully address inaccuracies, third‑party access, and the practical harms experienced by patients and pharmacy staff.