# Will physiatrists be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Physiatrists score 35 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 60%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 7% outright, and 33% stays with people. - **7%** AI can do it - **60%** AI helps - **33%** Needs a person Moderate exposure Lower than 54% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 15 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 9 and leaves 5 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Document examination results, treatment plans, and patients' outcomes. Documentation drafting from notes and records is highly AI suited. | 70% AI can do it | | Develop comprehensive plans for immediate and long-term rehabilitation, including therapeutic exercise, speech and occupational therapy, counseling, cognitive retraining, patient, family or caregiver education, or community reintegration. AI can draft rehab plans, physician tailors and approves them. | 50% AI helps | | Assess characteristics of patients' pain, such as intensity, location, or duration, using standardized clinical measures. AI can administer pain questionnaires and score standard scales. | 45% AI helps | | Prescribe physical therapy to relax the muscles and improve strength. Routine therapy orders can be drafted, physician still prescribes. | 45% AI helps | | Coordinate physical medicine and rehabilitation services with other medical activities. Scheduling and communication tools help, coordination remains interpersonal. | 40% AI helps | ## How physiatrists compare All occupations (923) Healthcare practitioners and technical (89) **Physiatrists score 35**, marked by the dark line. Each dot is a score, darker where more occupations share it. The short marks show the averages, 37 for all occupations and 34 for healthcare practitioners and technical. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $265,930 a year, May 2025 People employed 57,120 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +3.4% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Run electromyography and nerve conduction studies at the bedside - Perform functional capacity evaluations for injured workers - Review and sign off AI-drafted rehab plans in eClinicalWorks - Teach residents bedside diagnosis and treatment of disabling conditions - Hold ABPMR board certification in physical medicine and rehabilitation - Fit wheelchairs, bracing and adaptive equipment with patients ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Orthopedic surgeons29 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/orthopedic-surgeons/) - [Pediatric surgeons29 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/pediatric-surgeons/) - [Emergency medicine physicians33 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/emergency-medicine-physicians/) - [Urologists34 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/urologists/) - [Anesthesiologists28 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/anesthesiologists/) ## Questions about physiatrists and AI Will AI replace physiatrists? Partly. About 3 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly documenting exam results and treatment plans and drafting rehabilitation plans. Bedside examination, functional testing and electrodiagnosis stay with physiatrists because they need a person in the room with the patient. Which physiatrist tasks is AI taking over? Documentation drafting takes the most, with an exposure score of 70 and a fully automated share of the work. Exam results, treatment plans and patient outcomes can be drafted from notes and records already in the EHR, such as eClinicalWorks or athenaCollector. Pain assessment with standardized questionnaires also scores 45, since AI can administer the questionnaires and score standard scales. Which physiatrist tasks stay human? Hands-on examination stays with physiatrists, with an exposure score of 8. Checking mobility, strength, communication and cognition at the bedside needs a person in the room. Functional capacity evaluations also score 8, and electrodiagnosis scores 12 because needle EMG and nerve conduction testing require hands-on performance. Roughly 33% of task weight stays human. How can physiatrists stay valuable? Move the hours saved on documentation into hands-on assessment and patient contact. Review every AI-drafted rehab plan in your EHR, such as Greenway PrimeSUITE, and adjust it to the patient before signing. Keep skills in electrodiagnosis and functional capacity evaluation, since these tasks score lowest for AI exposure. ## Related jobs - [General internal medicine physicians44 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/general-internal-medicine-physicians/) - [Physical therapists38 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/physical-therapists/) - [Nurse practitioners49 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nurse-practitioners/) - [Occupational therapists38 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/occupational-therapists/) ## Next steps for physiatrists - ### Check your job Your job title is a rough guide. Your actual tasks decide your score. Paste your job description or CV and see which of your tasks AI can do. [Check your job](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-exposure-checker/) [Check your CV](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/cv-checker/) ### Check which roles in your team AI can take on We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) ## Related topics - [**Jobs AI can't replace**Cement masons score lowest, at 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-cant-replace/) - [**Jobs most at risk from AI**Proofreaders score highest, at 76.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-most-exposed-to-ai/) - [**High-paying jobs with low AI exposure**Radiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-paying-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Entry-level jobs with low AI exposure**Cement masons need little prior training and score 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/entry-level-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Jobs AI speeds up the most**For natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-speeds-up/) - [**AI and jobs in Malta**15 iGaming roles graded task by task.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/malta/) - [**Skills that keep work human**The skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/skills/) - [**Jobs A to Z**Every job we publish, by first letter.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs/) - [**AI exposure by industry**Average scores for 22 occupation groups.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industries/) - [**Write a CV screening software can read**How applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cv-screening-guide/) - [**AI for businesses**The tasks to automate first in each team and industry.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/) - [**How we score AI exposure**The grading, the weights and every source.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/) Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.