Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources.

Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 29 occupations and seen in 40 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Assist others to access additional services or resources. in Assisting and Caring 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 40 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 36 (90%) 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 6 of these tasks, with a mean mapped-usage share of 0.007% 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.

• Identify tubal and ectopic pregnancies and refer patients for treatments. · Midwives · importance 4.7 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients to medical specialists or other practitioners when necessary. · Family Medicine Physicians · importance 4.6 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients to medical specialists, social services, or other professionals as appropriate. · Hospitalists · importance 4.6 · exposure with tools
• Consult with and refer patients to ophthalmologist or other health care practitioner if additional medical treatment is determined necessary. · Optometrists · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Consult with, or refer patients to, appropriate specialists when conditions exceed the scope of practice or expertise. · Nurse Practitioners · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Treat or refer patients for primary care conditions, such as headaches, hypertension, urinary tract infections, upper respiratory infections, and dermatological conditions. · Nurse Practitioners · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients for more specialized treatments when conditions exceed the experience, expertise, or scope of practice of practitioner. · Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Consult with or refer patients to appropriate specialists when conditions exceed the scope of practice or expertise. · Nurse Midwives · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Refer patient to medical specialist or other practitioner when necessary. · Pediatricians, General · importance 4.4 · exposure with tools
• Inform patients and refer to appropriate practitioners when diagnosis reveals findings outside physical therapy. · Physical Therapists · importance 4.4 · no direct exposure
• Refer patients to physicians when symptoms indicative of systemic disorders, such as arthritis or diabetes, are observed in feet and legs. · Podiatrists · importance 4.4 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients to specialists or other practitioners. · Emergency Medicine Physicians · importance 4.4 · exposure with tools
• Consult with other health professionals to provide optimal patient care, referring patients to traditional health care professionals as necessary. · Naturopathic Physicians · importance 4.4 · exposure with tools
• Refer patient to medical specialist or other practitioner when necessary. · Obstetricians and Gynecologists · importance 4.4 · exposure with tools
• Consult with or refer patients to appropriate health practitioners when necessary. · Chiropractors · importance 4.3 · exposure with tools
• Discharge patient from physical therapy when goals or projected outcomes have been attained and provide for appropriate follow-up care or referrals. · Physical Therapists · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Refer patients to additional medical or educational services, if needed. · Audiologists · importance 4.3 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients to specialists when condition exceeds experience, expertise, or scope of practice. · Urologists · importance 4.3 · exposure with tools
• Refer patient to medical specialist or other practitioner when necessary. · General Internal Medicine Physicians · importance 4.3 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients to other health care practitioners as necessary. · Neurologists · importance 4.3 · exposure with tools
• Order diagnostic imaging procedures such as radiographs (x-rays), ultrasounds, mammograms, and bone densitometry tests, or refer patients to other health professionals for these procedures. · Naturopathic Physicians · importance 4.3 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients to other relevant services to provide continuity of care. · Dietetic Technicians · importance 4.2 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients to specialists for procedures such as ultrasounds or biophysical profiles. · Midwives · importance 4.2 · exposure with tools
• Consult with and refer clients to additional medical or educational services. · Speech-Language Pathologists · importance 4.2 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients for specialty consultations or treatments. · Acute Care Nurses · importance 4.2 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients requiring more specialized or complex treatment to psychiatrists, primary care physicians, or other medical specialists. · Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses · importance 4.2 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients to other specialists, as needed. · Dermatologists · importance 4.1 · 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
• Provide, or refer patients to other providers for, education or counseling on topics such as genetic testing, newborn care, contraception, or breastfeeding. · Midwives · importance 4.1 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients to ophthalmic surgeons or other physicians. · Orthoptists · importance 4.0 · exposure with tools
• Refer athletes for specialized consultation, physical therapy, or diagnostic testing. · Sports Medicine Physicians · importance 4.0 · exposure with tools
• Refer students or patients to specialized health resources or community agencies furnishing assistance. · Registered Nurses · importance 4.0 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients to specialists or community resources. · Genetic Counselors · importance 3.9 · exposure with tools
• Refer clients to community resources or services. · Physical Therapists · importance 3.8 · exposure with tools
• Refer clients to other types of therapists when necessary. · Massage Therapists · importance 3.6 · no direct exposure
• Refer clients to services, such as eye care, health care, rehabilitation, and counseling, to enhance visual and life functioning or when condition exceeds scope of practice. · Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists · importance 3.6 · exposure with tools
• Refer patients to other health professionals or agencies when appropriate. · Pharmacists · importance 3.4 · exposure with tools
• Recommend surgeons or surgical procedures. · Cardiologists · exposure with tools
• Refer patient to medical specialist or other practitioners when necessary. · Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric · exposure with tools
• Refer patient to medical specialist or other practitioners when necessary. · Pediatric Surgeons · exposure with tools

Occupations that perform this

• Midwives
• Family Medicine Physicians
• Hospitalists
• Optometrists
• Nurse Practitioners
• Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric
• Nurse Midwives
• Pediatricians, General
• Podiatrists
• Physical Therapists
• Emergency Medicine Physicians
• Obstetricians and Gynecologists
• Naturopathic Physicians
• Chiropractors
• Audiologists
• General Internal Medicine Physicians
• Neurologists
• Dietetic Technicians
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Acute Care Nurses
• Dermatologists
• Anesthesiologists
• Genetic Counselors
• Massage Therapists
• Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists
• Pharmacists
• Cardiologists
• 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-refer-patients-to-other-healthcare-practitioners-or-health-resources,
  title  = {Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources.},
  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/refer-patients-to-other-healthcare-practitioners-or-health-resources}
}