Will AI replace Physical Therapist Aides?
Estimated risk score: 24 out of 100
Very low replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (5 to 43).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 19 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 31-2022.00 · Healthcare Support
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 3 of its 19 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Perform clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages, or filling out forms.
- Record treatment given and equipment used.
- Schedule patient appointments with physical therapists and coordinate therapists' schedules.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 15 of its 19 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, or heat, light, sound, water, or electrical modality treatments, such as ultrasound.
- Arrange treatment supplies to keep them in order.
- Assist patients to dress, undress, or put on and remove supportive devices, such as braces, splints, or slings.
- Change linens, such as bed sheets and pillow cases.
- Clean and organize work area and disinfect equipment after treatment.
- Instruct, motivate, safeguard, or assist patients practicing exercises or functional activities, under direction of medical staff.
What the job is
Under close supervision of a physical therapist or physical therapy assistant, perform only delegated, selected, or routine tasks in specific situations. These duties include preparing the patient and the treatment area.
Also called: Physical Therapy Aide (PTA), Physical Therapist Aide (PTA), PT Tech (Physical Therapy Technician), Rehabilitation Technician (Rehabilitation Tech), PT Tech, PT Attendant, Therapy Aide, Outpatient Aide.
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 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. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate