Will AI replace podiatrists?

Listens to doctor-patient conversations and writes clinical notes automatically — saves clinicians hours of documentation daily

The most widely used health records system — AI now drafts clinical notes, flags drug interactions, and predicts patient deterioration

AI that analyses medical scans in real-time — alerts care teams to critical findings like strokes faster than traditional reading

Uses AI to match cancer patients with the most effective treatments based on their specific genetic profile

AI that handles routine patient communication — appointment reminders, medication checks, and post-discharge follow-ups

Your all-purpose AI assistant — use it to draft emails, summarise documents, brainstorm ideas, and get quick answers to work questions

Athletic Trainers

AI predicts injury risk from workload and movement data. Athletic trainers assess the injured athlete, decide whether they can return to play, and provide the hands-on rehabilitation that brings them back. That clinical judgment and physical care cannot be automated.

Audiologists

AI hearing aids now automatically adapt to acoustic environments in real time. Diagnosing the type and cause of a patient's hearing loss, selecting and fitting the right amplification, and providing aural rehabilitation requires a clinician trained to understand and address what the patient is actually experiencing.

Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians

AI echocardiography platforms from GE HealthCare and Philips now measure ejection fraction, chamber dimensions, and wall motion scores automatically from acquired images. They do not acquire those images. The cardiac sonographer positioning the probe to obtain a diagnostic-quality apical four-chamber view on a post-surgical patient with a ventilated lung, the cath lab technician managing patient haemodynamics during an emergency PTCA, and the electrophysiology tech monitoring ablation catheter positions in real time are performing work that requires trained hands and clinical situational awareness.

Chiropractors

Chiropractic diagnosis and manipulation require hands-on physical skill and clinical judgment — the tools are changing, but the trained practitioner in the room is non-negotiable.

Dermatologists

AI skin lesion analysis has reached clinical-grade accuracy for specific tasks — melanoma detection on dermoscopic images is one of the genuinely impressive AI clinical achievements. But dermatology is far more than lesion classification: it's a comprehensive medical specialty involving complex diagnoses, systemic disease, procedures, and patient relationships that AI assists rather than replaces.

Avionics Technicians

Aircraft Built-In Test Equipment (BITE) flags faults automatically and AI-assisted diagnostics surface repair guidance faster. The technician who must sign an FAA-approved maintenance release verifying the aircraft is airworthy is still the required human in the loop — and there is a shortage of them.