Acupuncturists

Maintain detailed and complete records of health care plans and prognoses.

AI: Fully automatable - AI-driven EHRs and documentation tools can generate, update, and maintain detailed clinical records, care plans, and prognoses automatically from clinical inputs and templates.

Collect medical histories and general health and life style information from patients.

AI: Fully automatable - AI chatbots and digital intake systems can reliably collect comprehensive medical histories and lifestyle information directly from patients and integrate them into records.

Educate patients on topics such as meditation, ergonomics, stretching, exercise, nutrition, the healing process, breathing, or relaxation techniques.

AI: Fully automatable - AI can generate personalized, evidence-based patient education on meditation, ergonomics, stretching, exercise, nutrition, breathing, and relaxation and answer follow-up questions, so it can fully automate educational content and guidance even if it cannot physically demonstrate techniques.

Maintain and follow standard quality, safety, environmental and infection control policies and procedures.

AI: Partial - AI can monitor compliance, provide checklists, alerts, and analyze safety data, but cannot physically implement or bear legal responsibility for infection-control practices.

Adhere to local, state and federal laws, regulations and statutes.

AI: Partial - AI can provide legal and regulatory guidance, checklists, and monitoring tools to help comply with laws, but cannot assume legal responsibility or perform licensure actions on behalf of practitioners.

Identify correct anatomical and proportional point locations based on patients' anatomy and positions, contraindications, and precautions related to treatments such as intradermal needles, moxibution, electricity, guasha, or bleeding.

AI: Partial - AI can map and suggest anatomical/acupoint locations from images and guidelines and flag contraindications, but cannot perform tactile palpation or real-time adjustments for individual anatomical variation during treatment.

Analyze physical findings and medical histories to make diagnoses according to Oriental medicine traditions.

AI: Partial - AI can analyze histories and physical findings to propose diagnoses according to Oriental medicine frameworks, but lacks tactile data (e.g., pulse palpation nuances) and legal authority for final diagnosis without clinician confirmation.

Develop individual treatment plans and strategies.

AI: Partial - AI can draft individualized treatment plans using diagnostic data, guidelines, and outcomes data, but such plans typically require practitioner customization and approval for safety and context.

Evaluate treatment outcomes and recommend new or altered treatments as necessary to further promote, restore, or maintain health.

AI: Partial - AI can analyze outcome data and suggest modifications to treatment regimens, but clinical judgment and hands-on assessment are generally required to implement and validate changes.

Dispense herbal formulas and inform patients of dosages and frequencies, treatment duration, possible side effects and drug interactions.

AI: Partial - AI can calculate dosages, durations, interactions, and counsel patients on herbal formulas, but cannot physically dispense herbal products or assume dispensing legal responsibilities.

Assess patients' general physical appearance to make diagnoses.

AI: Partial - AI can assess visible signs from images or video and suggest diagnostic impressions, but many appearance-based evaluations require in-person inspection and broader clinical context.

Formulate herbal preparations to treat conditions considering herbal properties such as taste, toxicity, effects of preparation, contraindications, and incompatibilities.

AI: Partial - AI can synthesize herbal properties, known toxicities, contraindications, and preparation methods to propose formulations, but cannot fully ensure safety, legality, individualized clinical judgment, or perform lab validation required for final prescribing.

Consider Western medical procedures in health assessment, health care team communication, and care referrals.

AI: Partial - AI can integrate Western-procedure knowledge into assessments and generate recommended referrals and communication drafts for care teams, but final consideration and clinical decision-making require licensed clinician oversight.

Insert needles to provide acupuncture treatment.

AI: Not automatable - Needle insertion is an invasive, manual clinical procedure requiring trained human practitioners and cannot be performed by AI.

Treat patients using tools such as needles, cups, ear balls, seeds, pellets, or nutritional supplements.

AI: Not automatable - AI cannot physically perform interventions such as needling, cupping, or manual application of treatments, and autonomous clinical robots for these tasks are not broadly available or accepted as of 2025.

Apply heat or cold therapy to patients using materials such as heat pads, hydrocollator packs, warm compresses, cold compresses, heat lamps, or vapor coolants.

AI: Not automatable - Applying heat or cold therapy requires hands-on, in-person physical action that AI cannot perform.

Apply moxibustion directly or indirectly to patients using Chinese, non-scarring, stick, or pole moxa.

AI: Not automatable - Moxibustion is a manual, in-person procedure involving fire/heat application that AI cannot physically execute.

Treat medical conditions using techniques such as acupressure, shiatsu, or tuina.

AI: Not automatable - Acupressure, shiatsu, and tuina are manual therapies requiring direct physical manipulation that AI cannot deliver.