Physician Assistants

Provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician. Conduct complete physicals, provide treatment, and counsel patients. May, in some cases, prescribe medication. Must graduate from an accredited educational program for physician assistants.

The occupation of Physician Assistants has an automation risk of 41.1%, which is based on a calculated base risk of 41.7%. This moderate level of risk indicates that while many of the routine or standardized elements of the job may be susceptible to automation, many responsibilities still require significant human judgment and nuanced decision-making. Increasing advancements in machine learning and diagnostic AI systems continue to challenge traditional roles within healthcare, especially for tasks that rely heavily on pattern recognition or straightforward protocol adherence. However, the role of physician assistants often extends beyond such automatable duties, providing a buffer against full automation in the foreseeable future. Thus, the occupation sits in the mid-range for automation risk, balancing between automatable routine tasks and complex, interpersonal job elements. Among the most automatable tasks for physician assistants are making tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients, interpreting diagnostic test results for deviations from normal, and prescribing therapy or medication with physician approval. These tasks frequently rely on evidence-based protocols and structured data, areas where AI and decision-support tools have shown significant promise. For example, decision algorithms and diagnostic platforms can be trained to recognize patterns in patient data and suggest diagnoses or treatment options, streamlining some elements of patient care. Additionally, automated systems can cross-reference patient information with vast databases to suggest medications or flag potential issues much quicker than a human might. As these technologies mature, it becomes increasingly feasible that machines could assume more responsibility for these particular duties, raising the automation risk for these aspects of the physician assistant’s role. Conversely, some tasks are highly resistant to automation, such as ordering medical and laboratory supplies and equipment, supervising and coordinating the activities of technicians and technical assistants, and providing physicians with assistance during surgery or complicated medical procedures. These duties require adaptability, contextual understanding, hands-on skills, and real-time problem-solving that current automation technologies struggle to replicate. Especially in high-stakes, dynamic environments like surgery, human involvement remains essential to manage unexpected developments and ensure patient safety. The role also demands a degree of leadership and nuanced communication that goes beyond what algorithms and robots can currently provide. Furthermore, bottleneck skills such as originality—measured at low percentages of 2.9% and 3.0%—act as further barriers to automation, since creative problem solving and novel thinking are vital in many unique patient scenarios and remain challenging for AI to emulate robustly.