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AI exposure Healthcare practitioners and technical

Will AI replace health technologists and technicians?

Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other. US occupation 29-2099.

4.5%

of the time health technologists and technicians spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of health technologists and technicians' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 262 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 65% of them.Further along than 65% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

Around the middle of the pack.Keeping pace with the average job.

What AI already does for health technologists and techniciansWhat health technologists and technicians no longer do alone

O*NET lists 60 tasks for health technologists and technicians. AI use at work shows up in 4 of them. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.

  1. Explain policies, procedures, or services to patients using medical or administrative knowledge.Core task mostly automated 0.90
  2. Develop and distribute newsletters, brochures, or other printed materials to share information with patients or medical staff.Core task mostly automated 0.85
  3. Read current literature, talk with colleagues, continue education, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in the field.Core task automated and assisted 0.72
  4. Take and document patients' medical histories.Core task automated and assisted 0.72

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

56 of the 60 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Adjust equipment to optimize viewing of the nervous system.Core task
  • Administer topical ophthalmic or oral medications.Core task
  • Analyze patients' abilities to pay to determine charges on a sliding scale.Core task
  • Assess abnormalities of color vision, such as amblyopia.Core task
  • Assess refractive condition of eyes, using retinoscope.Core task
  • Assist in training technicians, medical students, residents, or other staff members.Core task
Show the other 50
  • Assist physicians in performing ophthalmic procedures, including surgery.Core task
  • Attach electrodes to patients, using adhesives.Core task
  • Calculate corrections for refractive errors.Core task
  • Calibrate, troubleshoot, or repair equipment and correct malfunctions, as needed.Core task
  • Call patients to inquire about their post-operative status or recovery.Core task
  • Clean or sterilize ophthalmic or surgical instruments.Core task
  • Collect and report data on topics, such as patient encounters or inter-institutional problems, making recommendations for change when appropriate.Core task
  • Collect ophthalmic measurements or other diagnostic information, using ultrasound equipment, such as A-scan ultrasound biometry or B-scan ultrasonography equipment.Core task
  • Collect patients' medical information needed to customize tests.Core task
  • Conduct binocular disparity tests to assess depth perception.Core task
  • Conduct low vision blindness tests.Core task
  • Conduct ocular motility tests to measure function of eye muscles.Core task
  • Conduct tests or studies such as electroencephalography (EEG), polysomnography (PSG), nerve conduction studies (NCS), electromyography (EMG), and intraoperative monitoring (IOM).Core task
  • Conduct tests to determine cerebral death, the absence of brain activity, or the probability of recovery from a coma.Core task
  • Conduct tests, such as the Amsler Grid test, to measure central visual field used in the early diagnosis of macular degeneration, glaucoma, or diseases of the eye.Core task
  • Conduct tonometry or tonography tests to measure intraocular pressure.Core task
  • Conduct visual field tests to measure field of vision.Core task
  • Coordinate communication between patients, family members, medical staff, administrative staff, or regulatory agencies.Core task
  • Educate patients on ophthalmic medical procedures, conditions of the eye, and appropriate use of medications.Core task
  • Explain testing procedures to patients, answering questions or reassuring patients, as needed.Core task
  • Identify and share research, recommendations, or other information regarding legal liabilities, risk management, or quality of care.Core task
  • Indicate artifacts or interferences derived from sources outside of the brain, such as poor electrode contact or patient movement, on electroneurodiagnostic recordings.Core task
  • Instruct patients in the care and use of contact lenses.Core task
  • Interview patients or their representatives to identify problems relating to care.Core task
  • Investigate and direct patient inquiries or complaints to appropriate medical staff members and follow up to ensure satisfactory resolution.Core task
  • Maintain knowledge of community services and resources available to patients.Core task
  • Maintain ophthalmic instruments or equipment.Core task
  • Measure and record lens power, using lensometers.Core task
  • Measure corneal curvature with keratometers or ophthalmometers to aid in the diagnosis of conditions, such as astigmatism.Core task
  • Measure corneal thickness, using pachymeter or contact ultrasound methods.Core task
  • Measure patients' body parts and mark locations where electrodes are to be placed.Core task
  • Measure the thickness of the retinal nerve, using scanning laser polarimetry techniques to aid in diagnosis of glaucoma.Core task
  • Measure visual acuity, including near, distance, pinhole, or dynamic visual acuity, using appropriate tests.Core task
  • Measure visual, auditory, or somatosensory evoked potentials (EPs) to determine responses to stimuli.Core task
  • Monitor patients during tests or surgeries, using electroencephalographs (EEG), evoked potential (EP) instruments, or video recording equipment.Core task
  • Participate in research projects, conferences, or technical meetings.Core task
  • Perform advanced ophthalmic procedures, including electrophysiological, electrophysical, or microbial procedures.Core task
  • Perform fluorescein angiography of the eye.Core task
  • Perform ophthalmic triage, in the office or by phone, to assess severity of patients' conditions.Core task
  • Photograph patients' eye areas, using clinical photography techniques, to document retinal or corneal defects.Core task
  • Provide consultation or training to volunteers or staff on topics, such as guest relations, patients' rights, or medical issues.Core task
  • Refer patients to appropriate health care services or resources.Core task
  • Set up, program, or record montages or electrical combinations when testing peripheral nerve, spinal cord, subcortical, or cortical responses.Core task
  • Submit reports to physicians summarizing test results.Core task
  • Summarize technical data to assist physicians to diagnose brain, sleep, or nervous system disorders.Core task
  • Supervise or instruct ophthalmic staff.Core task
  • Take anatomical or functional ocular measurements, such as axial length measurements, of the eye or surrounding tissue.Core task
  • Create three-dimensional images of the eye, using computed tomography (CT).
  • Perform slit lamp biomicroscopy procedures to diagnose disorders of the eye, such as retinitis, presbyopia, cataracts, or retinal detachment.
  • Teach patients to use home health care equipment.

How that compares

Among the 65 healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, health technologists and technicians rank 17. The group averages 4.1%, and its most exposed job is Medical Records Specialists at 66.7%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 258Public Safety Telecommunicators 4.7%
  2. 258School Psychologists 4.7%
  3. 261Pest Control Workers 4.6%

Just below

  1. 263Commercial and Industrial Designers 4.4%
  2. 263First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers, Except Gambling Services 4.4%
  3. 263First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers 4.4%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.