In May, Kinney Drugs had implemented the AI tool, named Burt after the pharmacy’s founder, to improve patient communication and refill services. Privacy experts raised concerns surrounding the security of protected health information, a characterization Kinney Drugs denied. Previously, any customer who provided their telephone number to Kinney Drugs automatically consented to interacting with the AI tool, according to the pharmacy’s terms. Callaghan previously told VTDigger that she would frequently receive calls from the AI tool requesting refill orders on her prescriptions. The implementation of the AI tool came as other healthcare systems nationwide are embracing the new technology.