Prescribe medications.

Prescribe medications. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 26 occupations and seen in 38 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Prescribe medical treatments or devices. in Monitoring and Controlling Resources .

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 38 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 34 (89%) 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 3 of these tasks, with a mean mapped-usage share of 0.008% 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.

• Prescribe or administer treatment, therapy, medication, vaccination, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury. · Family Medicine Physicians · importance 5.0 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe or administer treatment, therapy, medication, vaccination, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury in infants and children. · Pediatricians, General · importance 5.0 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe medications or treatment regimens to hospital inpatients. · Hospitalists · importance 4.9 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval. · Physician Assistants · importance 4.9 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe medications as permitted by state regulations. · Nurse Midwives · importance 4.9 · exposure with tools
• Write prescriptions for psychotropic medications as allowed by state regulations and collaborative practice agreements. · Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses · importance 4.9 · exposure with tools
• Administer, dispense, or prescribe natural medicines, such as food or botanical extracts, herbs, dietary supplements, vitamins, nutraceuticals, and amino acids. · Naturopathic Physicians · importance 4.8 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe, direct, or administer psychotherapeutic treatments or medications to treat mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders. · Psychiatrists · importance 4.8 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe medications to treat eye diseases if state laws permit. · Optometrists · importance 4.8 · exposure with tools
• Select, order, or administer anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs, fluids or blood products as necessary. · Nurse Anesthetists · importance 4.8 · no direct exposure
• Prescribe medication dosages, routes, and frequencies, based on such patient characteristics as age and gender. · Nurse Practitioners · importance 4.8 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe medication such as antihistamines, antibiotics, and nasal, oral, topical, or inhaled glucocorticosteroids. · Allergists and Immunologists · importance 4.8 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe or administer antibiotics, antiseptics, or compresses to treat infection or injury. · Urologists · importance 4.8 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe medications based on efficacy, safety, and cost as legally authorized. · Nurse Practitioners · importance 4.7 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe or administer therapy, medication, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury. · Obstetricians and Gynecologists · importance 4.7 · exposure with tools
• Treat sick or injured animals by prescribing medication, setting bones, dressing wounds, or performing surgery. · Veterinarians · importance 4.7 · no direct exposure
• Prescribe or administer medications, such as anti-epileptic drugs, and monitor patients for behavioral and cognitive side effects. · Neurologists · importance 4.7 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe or administer topical or systemic medications to treat ophthalmic conditions and to manage pain. · Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric · importance 4.7 · exposure with tools
• Select and prescribe medications to address patient needs. · Emergency Medicine Physicians · importance 4.7 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe medications, corrective devices, physical therapy, or surgery. · Podiatrists · importance 4.7 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe medications to treat patients with erectile dysfunction (ED), infertility, or ejaculation problems. · Urologists · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Write prescriptions for antibiotics or other medications. · Dentists, General · importance 4.5 · direct LLM exposure
• Prescribe medications and observe patients' reactions, modifying prescriptions as needed. · Acute Care Nurses · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Select and prescribe post-anesthesia medications or treatments to patients. · Nurse Anesthetists · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe or administer medication, therapy, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury. · General Internal Medicine Physicians · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe or recommend drugs, medical devices, or other forms of treatment, such as physical therapy, inhalation therapy, or related therapeutic procedures. · Registered Nurses · importance 4.4 · exposure with tools
• Select, order, or administer pre-anesthetic medications. · Nurse Anesthetists · importance 4.4 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe hormonal agents or topical treatments such as contraceptives, spironolactone, antiandrogens, oral corticosteroids, retinoids, benzoyl peroxide, or antibiotics. · Dermatologists · importance 4.3 · exposure with tools
• Provide direct care by performing comprehensive health assessments, developing differential diagnoses, conducting specialized tests, or prescribing medications or treatments. · Clinical Nurse Specialists · importance 4.2 · exposure with tools
• Provide medical care and consultation in many settings, prescribing medication and treatment and referring patients for surgery. · Anesthesiologists · importance 4.1 · no direct exposure
• Work in hospitals or clinics or for Health Management Organizations (HMOs), dispensing prescriptions, serving as a medical team consultant, or specializing in specific drug therapy areas, such as oncology or nuclear pharmacotherapy. · Pharmacists · importance 4.0 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe medications for the treatment of athletic-related injuries. · Sports Medicine Physicians · importance 3.9 · exposure with tools
• Prescribe synthetic drugs under the supervision of medical doctors or within the allowances of regulatory bodies. · Naturopathic Physicians · importance 3.5 · exposure with tools
• Describe preoperative and postoperative treatments and procedures, such as sedatives, diets, antibiotics, or preparation and treatment of the patient's operative area, to parents or guardians of the patient. · Pediatric Surgeons · direct LLM exposure
• Diagnose bodily disorders and orthopedic conditions, and provide treatments, such as medicines and surgeries, in clinics, hospital wards, or operating rooms. · Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric · no direct exposure
• Prescribe heart medication to treat or prevent heart problems. · Cardiologists · exposure with tools
• Prescribe preoperative and postoperative treatments and procedures, such as sedatives, diets, antibiotics, or preparation and treatment of the patient's operative area. · Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric · exposure with tools
• Prescribe radionuclides and dosages to be administered to individual patients. · Radiologists · exposure with tools

Occupations that perform this

• Family Medicine Physicians
• Pediatricians, General
• Physician Assistants
• Hospitalists
• Nurse Midwives
• Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses
• Psychiatrists
• Naturopathic Physicians
• Optometrists
• Nurse Anesthetists
• Nurse Practitioners
• Veterinarians
• Obstetricians and Gynecologists
• Emergency Medicine Physicians
• Neurologists
• Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric
• Podiatrists
• Dentists, General
• General Internal Medicine Physicians
• Dermatologists
• Anesthesiologists
• Pharmacists
• Cardiologists
• Radiologists
• Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric
• 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-prescribe-medications,
  title  = {Prescribe medications.},
  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/prescribe-medications}
}