BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Kinney Drugs has decided to reduce the use of its AI assistant after receiving feedback from customers about problematic interactions, including unclear responses, incorrect dosage information, and overlooked prescription alerts.
The pharmacy chain debuted its AI assistant, named Burt after the company's founder, in May. Burt was designed to handle patient communication regarding prescriptions and refills. However, issues began to arise as customers reported various shortcomings, as highlighted by VTDigger.
"One important point to note is that ensuring privacy and security does not equate to providing a good user experience. We acknowledge that we fell short in this area," stated Kinney Drugs President John Marraffa.
Marraffa indicated that the company will revert to the traditional touch-tone phone system for incoming patient calls.
Concerns about data privacy were also voiced by customers, who feared that their sensitive health information might be compromised when using an AI system. Marraffa reassured that Burt adheres to HIPAA regulations, emphasizing that the AI is not open-source and does not create or alter any data.
Going forward, Kinney will maintain Burt for outgoing communications, such as text alerts for prescription refills, but patients will need to opt in to receive these messages.
