Access, rural healthcare and work retention are priorities, says Utah AI chief Zachary Boyd, Ph.D.

There are lots of notions about problems that artificial intelligence could solve in U.S. healthcare — plus not just a few about the problems it might create. Zachary Boyd, Ph.D., director of Utah’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy, says there are some trouble spots in healthcare that his office would like to see AI address.

“We do have priorities that we think reflect the needs of our voters. We think access is a big deal. We think rural needs are a big deal. We think healthcare workforce retention and empowerment is a big deal. We have general value areas that we're looking at,” Boyd said in an interview with Managed Healthcare Executive (MHE).

The Utah AI policy office was established in 2024 to set policy and ease regulations to allow for AI demonstration projects in the state. Not surprisingly, healthcare is turning out to be one of the prime AI proving grounds in Utah. Boyd’s office has approved a project testing AI-powered prescription drug renewals that MHE featured in its March 2026 issue. The office has also given the go-ahead for a 12-month test of an AI radiographic tool for making certain dental diagnoses. The project is designed to assess whether dental hygienists, with the AI tool, can make certain diagnoses without getting a dentist involved.

Boyd, who is on leave from his role as a professor at Brigham Young University, says he sees AI in healthcare as addressing tasks and problems at the “bottom of a healthcare provider’s” that are routine enough that AI can do them safely. He mentioned as illustrative examples the diagnosis of pink eye (conjunctivitis) and urinary tract infections.

The demonstration projects come with a variety of requirements to report data and outcomes that the state can use to formulate future regulations.

“Sometimes it's governance best practices, such as what the content of the professional standards should be around this or the consumer protection standards. How do you have a human in the loop?” Boyd said.

“I don’t think we’re pro-AI or anti-AI. We’re pro looking at AI. We’re pro trying things and finding what works,” he told MHE.