Medical Assistants
Healthcare Support Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 31-9092.00
Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
Moderate· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.048
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.35
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
Exposed tasks only20 rated tasks · 11 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (55.0%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- All rated tasks are in the O*NET 31.0 task list.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
| Task (O*NET 20.1) | Claude.aiRaw / share % | APIRaw / share % |
|---|---|---|
Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets, or physicians' instructions to patients.31-9092.00 | 0.022672.0 | 0.00348.6 |
Change dressings on wounds.31-9092.00 | 0.004113.1 | —0 |
Schedule appointments for patients.31-9092.00 | 0.00319.9 | 0.030276.5 |
Contact medical facilities or departments to schedule patients for tests or admission.31-9092.00 | 0.00165.1 | 0.00266.5 |
Authorize drug refills and provide prescription information to pharmacies. | —0 | 0.00174.4 |
Greet and log in patients arriving at office or clinic. | —0 | 0.00153.9 |
| Not observed on any surface — 14 task(s) — These tasks have no row in the source for this release. The 0 in the share row is a display-stage composition ratio; absence is what the — in the raw row states. | ||
Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height. | —0 | —0 |
Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician. | —0 | —0 |
Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records. | —0 | —0 |
Prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician. | —0 | —0 |
Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing. | —0 | —0 |
Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures. | —0 | —0 |
Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean. | —0 | —0 |
Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies. | —0 | —0 |
Perform general office duties, such as answering telephones, taking dictation, or completing insurance forms. | —0 | —0 |
Inventory and order medical, lab, or office supplies or equipment. | —0 | —0 |
Perform routine laboratory tests and sample analyses. | —0 | —0 |
Operate x-ray, electrocardiogram (EKG), or other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests. | —0 | —0 |
Set up medical laboratory equipment. | —0 | —0 |
Keep financial records or perform other bookkeeping duties, such as handling credit or collections or mailing monthly statements to patients. | —0 | —0 |
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime. The unit and the meaning differ from the observed shares (%) in the other tabs, so do not place them on the same axis.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records.O*NET Task ID 2026 | 1.0 |
Authorize drug refills and provide prescription information to pharmacies.O*NET Task ID 2031 | 1.0 |
Perform general office duties, such as answering telephones, taking dictation, or completing insurance forms.O*NET Task ID 2038 | 1.0 |
Keep financial records or perform other bookkeeping duties, such as handling credit or collections or mailing monthly statements to patients.O*NET Task ID 2042 | 1.0 |
Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.O*NET Task ID 2024 | 0.5 |
Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets, or physicians' instructions to patients.O*NET Task ID 2029 | 0.5 |
Schedule appointments for patients.O*NET Task ID 2034 | 0.5 |
Greet and log in patients arriving at office or clinic.O*NET Task ID 2036 | 0.5 |
Contact medical facilities or departments to schedule patients for tests or admission.O*NET Task ID 2037 | 0.5 |
Inventory and order medical, lab, or office supplies or equipment.O*NET Task ID 2039 | 0.5 |
Operate x-ray, electrocardiogram (EKG), or other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests.O*NET Task ID 2043 | 0.5 |
Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician.O*NET Task ID 2025 | 0.0 |
Prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician.O*NET Task ID 2027 | 0.0 |
Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing.O*NET Task ID 2028 | 0.0 |
Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures.O*NET Task ID 2030 | 0.0 |
Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.O*NET Task ID 2032 | 0.0 |
Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.O*NET Task ID 2033 | 0.0 |
Change dressings on wounds.O*NET Task ID 2035 | 0.0 |
Perform routine laboratory tests and sample analyses.O*NET Task ID 2040 | 0.0 |
Set up medical laboratory equipment.O*NET Task ID 2041 | 0.0 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Anthropic Economic Index, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (20)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height. | Core |
| Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician. | Core |
| Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records. | Core |
| Prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician. | Core |
| Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing. | Core |
| Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets, or physicians' instructions to patients. | Core |
| Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures. | Core |
| Authorize drug refills and provide prescription information to pharmacies. | Core |
| Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean. | Core |
| Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies. | Core |
| Schedule appointments for patients. | Core |
| Change dressings on wounds. | Core |
| Greet and log in patients arriving at office or clinic. | Core |
| Contact medical facilities or departments to schedule patients for tests or admission. | Core |
| Perform general office duties, such as answering telephones, taking dictation, or completing insurance forms. | Core |
| Inventory and order medical, lab, or office supplies or equipment. | Core |
| Perform routine laboratory tests and sample analyses. | Core |
| Set up medical laboratory equipment. | Core |
| Operate x-ray, electrocardiogram (EKG), or other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests. | Core |
| Keep financial records or perform other bookkeeping duties, such as handling credit or collections or mailing monthly statements to patients. | Supplemental |
0.39/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
Robot environment tiers (E0–E3)
E0 noneDetails
Rated not doable by robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated, even in a purpose-built setting
E1 purpose-built robot settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting built around the machine, such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line
E2 structured facilitiesDetails
Rated doable in a human work facility that an institution keeps to a working standard, such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port
E3 unstructured settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting that no institution keeps to a working standard, such as a private home or a construction site
Only tasks classified as physical are listed; other tasks have no tier in the source.
| Task (O*NET 29.3) | Robot environment tier |
|---|---|
| Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician. | E0 none |
| Prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures. | E0 none |
| Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean. | E0 none |
| Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Change dressings on wounds. | E0 none |
| Inventory and order medical, lab, or office supplies or equipment. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Perform routine laboratory tests and sample analyses. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Set up medical laboratory equipment. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Operate x-ray, electrocardiogram (EKG), or other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests. | E0 none |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 834K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 942K
- Change (2025–35)
- +12.9%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $45,690
- Typical education needed for entry
- Postsecondary nondegree award
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24950 | 간호조무사 | This occupation is narrower | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 3256Medical Assistants
The definition, tasks and examples below are the ILO's description of that unit group, not of this occupation.
Medical assistants perform basic clinical and administrative tasks to support patient care under the direct supervision of a medical practitioner or other health professional.
Tasks
- (a) interviewing patients and their families to obtain information on their health status and medical history;
- (b) assisting medical doctors and other health professionals to examine and treat patients, including measuring and recording vital signs, administering medications and performing routine clinical procedures such as giving injections and removing sutures;
- (c) getting patients ready for examination and treatment, including explaining procedures and showing them to examination rooms;
- (d) preparing and handling medical instruments and supplies, including sterilizing instruments and disposing of contaminated supplies in accordance with safety procedures;
- (e) collecting blood, tissue or other specimens, and preparing them for laboratory testing;
- (f) providing information to patients and families on health care topics including medications prescribed by a medical doctor or other health professional;
- (g) providing prescription and drug refill information to pharmacies;
- (h) maintaining cleanliness of patient waiting and examination rooms;
- (i) recording information on patients' medical history, diagnostic testing and treatment procedures and results, and other information in medical records-keeping systems;
- (j) scheduling appointments with patients, and preparing documentation required for billing, reporting and insurance purposes.
Example occupations
Clinical assistant · Medical assistant · Ophthalmic assistant
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- chiropractic assistantESCO 3344.1This occupation is broader
Chiropractic assistants perform routine and administrative tasks to support patient care and work under the sole direction and supervision of a Chiropractor or Specialized Chiropractor. They may interview patients, keep records of the case history, assist Chiropractors or Specialized Chiropractors in providing patients examination and perform administrative tasks. Chiropractic assistants work within defined contexts using agreed protocols and procedures.
- doctors' surgery assistantESCO 3256.1Overlapping, not the same
Doctors' surgery assistants support doctors of medicine in medical measures, in performing simple support activities during medical procedures, standardised diagnostic programmes and standardised point-of-care tests, ensuring surgery hygiene, cleaning, disinfecting, sterilising and maintaining medical devices and performing the organisational and administrative tasks required for operating a doctor`s surgery under supervision, following the orders of the doctor of medicine.
- medical administrative assistantESCO 3344.2Overlapping, not the same
Medical administrative assistants work very closely with health professionals. They provide office support such as correspondence, fixing appointments and answering queries of patients.
- medical records clerkESCO 3252.1Overlapping, not the same
Medical records clerks organise, keep up-to-date and archive patients` records for medical staff availability. They transfer medical information from a patient’s paper records to an electronic template.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| J1303 | Assistant / Assistante médico-technique | This occupation is narrowerprovisional |
| M1609 | Secrétaire médical / Secrétaire médicale | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 3329 | Técnicos de la sanidad no clasificados bajo otros epígrafes | Overlapping, not the sameprovisional |
| 3614 | Secretarios de centros médicos o clínicas | Related, not a match |
| 5612 | Auxiliares de enfermería de atención primaria | Related, not a match |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 81102 | Medizinische Fachangestellte (ohne Spezialisierung) - fachlich ausgerichtete Tätigkeiten | Same scope |
| 81103 | Medizinische Fachangestellte (ohne Spezialisierung) - komplexe Spezialistentätigkeiten | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| 81183 | Medizinische Fachangestellte (sonstige spezifische Tätigkeitsangabe) - komplexe Spezialistentätigkeiten | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 133 | 看護師（准看護師を含む） | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| 259 | その他の一般事務従事者 | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| 371 | 看護助手 | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources