Explain medical procedures or test results to patients or family members.

Explain medical procedures or test results to patients or family members. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 24 occupations and seen in 26 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Explain medical information to patients or family members. in Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others .

Detailed work activities are the most granular shared layer in O*NET's work-activity hierarchy (Generalized → Intermediate → Detailed → occupation-specific task). The figures below describe how this activity shows up across the economy and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the work will be automated.

AI exposure

Of the 26 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 21 (81%) are flagged as directly exposed to language models (E1) or exposed via model-powered tools (E2).

The Anthropic Economic Index observes real AI use on 16 of these tasks, with a mean mapped-usage share of 0.015% per task.

Exposure estimates overlap with model capabilities — whether a model could speed the task up — not whether the work will be done by software. Observed AI use is augmentation and assistance today, not jobs replaced.

Member tasks

Occupation-specific tasks O*NET maps to this detailed work activity, most important first.

• Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients. · Family Medicine Physicians · importance 5.0 · exposure with tools
• Provide instructions to patients or family members concerning diagnoses or treatment plans. · Orthoptists · importance 5.0 · direct LLM exposure
• Explain procedures and observe patients to ensure safety and comfort during scan. · Radiologic Technologists and Technicians · importance 4.9 · exposure with tools
• Interpret laboratory results and communicate findings to patients or physicians. · Genetic Counselors · importance 4.9 · exposure with tools
• Explain procedures to patients, family members, staff members or others. · Nurse Midwives · importance 4.9 · direct LLM exposure
• Educate patients and family members about mental health and medical conditions, preventive health measures, medications, or treatment plans. · Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses · importance 4.9 · exposure with tools
• Explain testing procedures to patients, answering questions or reassuring patients, as needed. · Neurodiagnostic Technologists · importance 4.8 · no direct exposure
• Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients and parents or guardians. · Pediatricians, General · importance 4.8 · exposure with tools
• Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients. · Obstetricians and Gynecologists · importance 4.8 · exposure with tools
• Educate patients about diagnoses, prognoses, or treatments. · Allergists and Immunologists · importance 4.8 · exposure with tools
• Explain test procedures and safety precautions to patients and provide them with assistance during test procedures. · Nuclear Medicine Technologists · importance 4.7 · exposure with tools
• Prepare patient for exam by explaining procedure, transferring patient to ultrasound table, scrubbing skin and applying gel, and positioning patient properly. · Diagnostic Medical Sonographers · importance 4.7 · no direct exposure
• Explain testing procedures to patients to obtain cooperation and reduce anxiety. · Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians · importance 4.7 · exposure with tools
• Educate, prepare, and reassure patients and their families by answering questions, providing physical assistance, and reinforcing physicians' advice regarding treatment reactions or post-treatment care. · Radiation Therapists · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Explain treatment procedures to patients to gain cooperation and allay fears. · Respiratory Therapists · importance 4.6 · no direct exposure
• Explain exercise program or physiological testing procedures to participants. · Exercise Physiologists · importance 4.6 · direct LLM exposure
• Provide counseling to radiologic patients to explain the processes, risks, benefits, or alternative treatments. · Radiologists · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients. · General Internal Medicine Physicians · importance 4.4 · exposure with tools
• Explain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures to patients, patient representatives, or family members. · Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists · importance 4.4 · exposure with tools
• Provide information to the patient about the proposed intervention, its material risks and expected benefits, and any reasonable alternatives. · Physical Therapists · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Explain diagnostic procedures such as chorionic villus sampling (CVS), ultrasound, fetal blood sampling, and amniocentesis. · Genetic Counselors · importance 4.1 · exposure with tools
• Inform coaches, trainers, or other interested parties regarding the medical conditions of athletes. · Sports Medicine Physicians · importance 4.0 · exposure with tools
• Advise or inform guardians, relatives, or significant others of patients' conditions or treatment. · Psychiatrists · importance 4.0 · exposure with tools
• Prepare patients for examinations, tests, or treatments and explain procedures. · Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses · importance 4.0 · exposure with tools
• Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients. · Cardiologists · exposure with tools
• Inform parents and guardians of child's health problems and surgical procedures through various channels, such as in-person and telecommunication systems. · Pediatric Surgeons · exposure with tools

Occupations that perform this

• Family Medicine Physicians
• Orthoptists
• Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
• Genetic Counselors
• Nurse Midwives
• Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses
• Neurodiagnostic Technologists
• Obstetricians and Gynecologists
• Pediatricians, General
• Allergists and Immunologists
• Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
• Nuclear Medicine Technologists
• Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians
• Radiation Therapists
• Respiratory Therapists
• Exercise Physiologists
• Radiologists
• General Internal Medicine Physicians
• Physical Therapists
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists
• Psychiatrists
• Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses
• Cardiologists
• Pediatric Surgeons

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-explain-medical-procedures-or-test-results-to-patients-or-family-members,
  title  = {Explain medical procedures or test results to patients or family members.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/detailed-activities/explain-medical-procedures-or-test-results-to-patients-or-family-members}
}