Will AI replace Emergency Medicine Physicians?

AI can do 64% of the work Emergency Medicine Physicians do at least twice as fast. People already use it for 1 of their 17 tasks, while 8 more are ready but barely used so far. 8 still need a person.

AI is already doing this1 · 10% of time

People already use AI for these tasks in real work, based on Anthropic's analysis of how Claude is used.

  • Analyze records, examination information, or test results to diagnose medical conditions.Mostly assisted10% of time

AI could do this next8 · 54% of time

AI can speed these up by at least half, but real use has not caught up yet. These are next in line.

  • Collect and record patient information, such as medical history or examination results, in electronic or handwritten medical records.17% of time
  • Conduct primary patient assessments that include information from prior medical care.13% of time
  • Consult with hospitalists and other professionals, such as social workers, regarding patients' hospital admission, continued observation, transition of care, or discharge.7% of time
  • Communicate likely outcomes of medical diseases or traumatic conditions to patients or their representatives.6% of time
  • Discuss patients' treatment plans with physicians and other medical professionals.4% of time
  • Evaluate patients' vital signs or laboratory data to determine emergency intervention needs and priority of treatment.4% of time
  • Refer patients to specialists or other practitioners.2% of time
  • Identify factors that may affect patient management, such as age, gender, barriers to communication, and underlying disease.1% of time

Still needs a person8 · 36% of time

No real AI use, no proven AI speedup and no robot that can do it yet. This is the part of the job to build on.

  • Select, request, perform, or interpret diagnostic procedures, such as laboratory tests, electrocardiograms, emergency ultrasounds, and radiographs.8% of time
  • Monitor patients' conditions, and reevaluate treatments, as necessary.7% of time
  • Direct and coordinate activities of nurses, assistants, specialists, residents, and other medical staff.6% of time
  • Select and prescribe medications to address patient needs.4% of time
  • Stabilize patients in critical condition.4% of time
  • Assess patients' pain levels or sedation requirements.2% of time
  • Perform emergency resuscitations on patients.2% of time
  • Perform such medical procedures as emergent cricothyrotomy, endotracheal intubation, and emergency thoracotomy.2% of time

Your week is not the average

Describe what you actually do and get a personal report: your own tasks, what AI can already do, what stays yours and a 90 day plan.

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What this means

AI can do most of this work faster, but a real part of the job still needs a person. Real use is still behind at 7 out of 100, so the change here is only getting started. The people who learn which tasks to hand off will pull ahead.

What to do next

  • Do the 1 task AI is already handling with AI yourself. Your peers already are, and it is quickly becoming the baseline.
  • Get ahead on the 8 tasks AI could do next. These move as tools improve, so learning them early pays off.
  • Build on the 8 tasks that stay human. This is where your judgment, skill and relationships matter most.
Anesthesiologists38%Cardiologists53%Dermatologists34%Family Medicine Physicians58%General Internal Medicine Physicians39%Neurologists67%

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