Artificial Intelligence’s Role in Occupational Therapy—The Innovation and Instability

Tyler R. Hood, OTD/S

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been increasing in relevance and use in the past 2 years since the introduction of ChatGPT. Many health care professionals don’t know what to make of AI because of worry that it may bring their productivity down, or because of HIPPA violation concerns. Although there are many risks to using AI, occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) should review any beneficial application to practice before making a decision related to AI’s role in occupational therapy. I recently conducted informal interviews on this topic. Over the course of the summer semester, I interviewed 20 stakeholders including one occupational therapy student, representatives from two occupational therapy companies, four practicing clinicians, 11 educators and researchers, and two retired OTPs. I was anticipating hearing that AI was new and has not been introduced into occupational therapy very much; however, I was pleasantly surprised by the profound impact that AI has on OTPs and on the transformation of “a new era” of occupational therapy, as one of the educators put it. Outlined below are the key ways that some OTPs are utilizing AI to promote a faster, safer, and more efficient style of work:

  1. Treatment optimization: AI can analyze data from wearable devices or motion capture systems to provide real-time feedback on a client's body position during exercises or daily activities.
  2. Client health metrics: Wearable devices can collect data on a client's heart rate, sleep patterns, activity levels, and more. AI can analyze this data to identify trends and potential health issues, allowing for earlier intervention using a preventative model of practice.
  3. Documentation assistance: AI can help generate draft reports, summarize client data, and suggest relevant treatment approaches, which can save OTPs time and improve documentation accuracy.
  4. Writing and research support: AI writing associates can help OTPs write progress notes, research papers, and educational materials more efficiently and effectively. This use of AI allows our writing and literature to be assessed before the funders, editors, or educational institution reviews it.
  5. Learning and idea generation: AI can be used to search for relevant research articles, suggest treatment ideas based on a client's individual needs, and help OTPs stay up to date on the latest advancements in the field.
  6. Evaluation and intervention tools: AI-powered applications can be used to score standardized assessments, provide gamified exercises for client engagement, and personalized interventions based on the client's progress. However, AI cannot see someone’s performance and make suggestions for interventions that are specific to the individual based on their past, current, and future circumstances, conditions, and occupations. This shines a light on how important it is for OTPs to monitor and use the AI information and use it as additional data, not as the final answer. This perspective supports how irreplaceable our profession is, as it was scored as the sixth-to-last profession of 702 to be replaced by robots with a 0.4% probability (OT Dude, 2021). Other sources put the probability at 0% (Will Robots Take My Job? 2024) or 0.35% (Beiner, 2019)!
  7. Client motivation: AI can be used to create personalized and motivational messages for clients, track their progress toward goals, and even provide virtual encouragement and reminders.

However, AI use cannot be discussed and used in practice without talking about its concerns. Below are some of the concerns raised by the stakeholders I spoke with:

  1. Client data privacy and security: There is a risk that client data stored in cloud-based AI platforms could be breached. OTPs need to ensure they are using AI tools that comply with HIPAA regulations and their work or school policies.
  2. Potential bias in AI algorithms: AI algorithms are trained on existing human-generated data, which contain biases and do not reflect a proportional amount of information related to vulnerable and minority populations. OTPs need to be aware of these biases and use AI tools as an associate and not as the final answer.
  3. Inaccurate or misleading information: AI is still new and under development. It has been known to make major factual errors. OTPs should verify any information generated by AI with evidence-based information such as journal articles and other AOTA resources.
  4. Limited accessibility of AI platforms: The cost of some AI platforms may limit access for OTPs working in settings that haven’t adopted them. Additionally, some platforms may not be user friendly for all OTPs.
  5. Risk of AI over-reliance: AI should be used as a tool to support OTPs, not to replace our clinical thinking and judgment.

It is important to look at who holds the power. According to the 20 stakeholders I spoke with, there are three agents that hold the power behind whether OTPs can implement AI or not. First and foremost are the funders or insurance agencies, which will not pay for AI if it's used in evaluations, interventions, and documentation and is not cost-effective. Secondly, the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE®) should consider AI education for future OTPs. Lastly, our OT programs need to decide how to integrate AI use into our curricula under the larger university standards without overwhelming the student body. This is a very exciting time for occupational therapy as we head into a new era with AI. OTPs need to enhance our knowledge of AI’s use and even become leaders in this groundbreaking innovation.

References

Beiner, F. (2019, January). Will “occupational therapist (OT)” be automated or replaced by robots? https://www.replacedbyrobot.info/18537/occupational-therapist-ot

OT Dude. (2021, July 18). Is artificial intelligence (A.I.) technology or robot OTs a threat to occupational therapy jobs? https://www.otdude.com/editorial-opinion/is-artificial-intelligence-a-threat-to-occupational-therapy-jobs/#Will_Robots_Take_My_OT_Job

Will Robots Take My Job? (2024). Will occupational therapists be replaced by AI & Robots? https://willrobotstakemyjob.com/occupational-therapists


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Tyler Hood is a third year student at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine’s OT Program. He is service-driven and passionate about teaching, learning, and making a positive change in OT practice. He hopes to work in an outpatient setting while continuing to promote positive change in OT to improve the profession’s prominence.

 

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