People Team AI Ask about a date

How exposed to AI is a Physical Therapist?

Of the 24 tasks O*NET lists for physical therapists, 3 could be done in half the time with a chat window today. 11 cannot be sped up at all. Here is which.

Exposure means published research judged an AI could halve the time a task takes, at the same quality. It does not mean the task stops needing a person. How to read this

Also called
Acute Care PT (Acute Care Physical Therapist)Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)Home Care Physical Therapist (Home Care PT)Inpatient Physical Therapist (Inpatient PT)Outpatient Physical Therapist (Outpatient PT)Pediatric Physical Therapist (Pediatric PT)Registered Physical Therapist (RPT)Therapist
Reachable today Needs software built first Cannot be sped up
24
tasks rated for this occupation
94%
hold a degree, from a survey of 28
225k
people do this job in the US
28 of 89
least protected in healthcare practitioners

Every task, and what AI can do with it

These are O*NET's task statements for this occupation, exactly as written, sorted into the three bands by the ratings behind this report. Nothing has been reworded.

Reachable with a chat window today

3
  • Inform patients and refer to appropriate practitioners when diagnosis reveals findings outside physical therapy
  • Refer clients to community resources or services
  • Participate in community or community agency activities or help to formulate public policy

Only with software built on top

10
  • Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients
  • Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention
  • Record prognosis, treatment, response, and progress in patient's chart or enter information into computer
  • Confer with the patient, medical practitioners, or appropriate others to plan, implement, or assess the intervention program
  • Obtain patients' informed consent to proposed interventions
  • Review physician's referral and patient's medical records to help determine diagnosis and physical therapy treatment required
  • Identify and document goals, anticipated progress, and plans for reevaluation
  • Provide educational information about physical therapy or physical therapists, injury prevention, ergonomics, or ways to promote health
  • Discharge patient from physical therapy when goals or projected outcomes have been attained and provide for appropriate follow-up care or referrals
  • Conduct or support research and apply research findings to practice

Cannot be sped up

11
  • Instruct patient and family in treatment procedures to be continued at home
  • Evaluate effects of treatment at various stages and adjust treatments to achieve maximum benefit
  • Administer manual exercises, massage, or traction to help relieve pain, increase patient strength, or decrease or prevent deformity or crippling
  • Test and measure patient's strength, motor development and function, sensory perception, functional capacity, or respiratory or circulatory efficiency and record data
  • Direct, supervise, assess, and communicate with supportive personnel
  • Provide information to the patient about the proposed intervention, its material risks and expected benefits, and any reasonable alternatives
  • Administer treatment involving application of physical agents, using equipment, moist packs, ultraviolet or infrared lamps, or ultrasound machines
  • Construct, maintain, or repair medical supportive devices
  • Evaluate, fit, or adjust prosthetic or orthotic devices or recommend modification to orthotist
  • Teach physical therapy students or those in other health professions
  • Direct group rehabilitation activities
What this does not say

This is not a prediction about your job

Nobody surveyed an employer. Tasks are counted equally, so a percentage here is a share of the list rather than a share of your week. And the ratings were made in 2023, which makes every figure a floor rather than a ceiling.

It must never be used to select anyone for redundancy. The full limits are here.

Where to go next

This is the standard task list for the title. The useful next question is which of the tasks you actually do should go near AI, and which should not.

Sort your own tasks Read the full report

Exposure ratings from Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs, Science 384, 1306–1308, 2024, used under the MIT licence. This page includes information from the O*NET Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. People Team AI has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Employment figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.