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AI exposure Healthcare support

Will AI replace medical assistants?

Medical Assistants. US occupation 31-9092.

4.8%

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

Ranked 255 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 66% of them.Further along than 66% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

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

What AI already does for medical assistantsWhat medical assistants no longer do alone

O*NET lists 20 tasks for medical assistants. AI use at work shows up in 1 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. Schedule appointments for patients.Core task mostly automated 1.00

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

19 of the 20 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Authorize drug refills and provide prescription information to pharmacies.Core task
  • Change dressings on wounds.Core task
  • Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.Core task
  • Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing.Core task
  • Contact medical facilities or departments to schedule patients for tests or admission.Core task
  • Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets, or physicians' instructions to patients.Core task
Show the other 13
  • Greet and log in patients arriving at office or clinic.Core task
  • Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures.Core task
  • Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.Core task
  • Inventory and order medical, lab, or office supplies or equipment.Core task
  • Operate x-ray, electrocardiogram (EKG), or other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests.Core task
  • Perform general office duties, such as answering telephones, taking dictation, or completing insurance forms.Core task
  • Perform routine laboratory tests and sample analyses.Core task
  • Prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician.Core task
  • Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.Core task
  • Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records.Core task
  • Set up medical laboratory equipment.Core task
  • Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician.Core task
  • Keep financial records or perform other bookkeeping duties, such as handling credit or collections or mailing monthly statements to patients.

How that compares

Among the 16 healthcare support occupations, medical assistants rank 3. The group averages 4.9%, and its most exposed job is Medical Transcriptionists at 63.7%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 252Structural Iron and Steel Workers 4.9%
  2. 255Airfield Operations Specialists 4.8%
  3. 255Construction and Building Inspectors 4.8%

Just below

  1. 258Fundraisers 4.7%
  2. 258Public Safety Telecommunicators 4.7%
  3. 258School Psychologists 4.7%

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.