Industry group, 6221
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
6,151,560 people work in this industry in the US, at mean pay of $89,620 a year (BLS, May 2025). What follows is how much of their working time the best AI models could finish, when, and in which jobs and tasks. Estimates.
of the paid hours. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
a year: 4.3 billion hours at what they cost. Not a forecast of savings.
- 39%
- 26%
- 35%
of the paid hours are within reach now in tasks people already bring to Claude. Another 29% is within reach in tasks not yet seen there.
Across the US: 30% within reach now and 36% by the end of 2028, on the long-run pace at four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
Share of the paid hours within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
What handing the work over would take
For the 5,869,343 people in jobs so far, 95% of the industry's people; the others are in the totals above and join this split as the review reaches their jobs. Shares of their working time within reach now, at the pace and reliability chosen above. Estimates. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
about 2.5 billion hours a year. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
about 1.6 billion hours a year. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
about 549 million hours a year. Short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the totals.
What their work is made of
- 25%
- 13%
- 5%
- 22%
- 35%
Each task's time split among five kinds of doing, judged one task at a time; only documents and systems can count as within reach.
What changes for the people
For the 5,869,343 people in jobs reviewed task by task so far, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five: the shares of their working time, from each job page's own map, weighted by how many people here do that job. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job. Estimates.
Conversation, in-person and hands-on work.
Desk work within reach in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs.
Desk work within reach that is small if wrong, with lighter checks.
What most people here would learn first
How many of them have each skill among the first two things to learn on their job's page. Every state, and the US
- Judgment where errors are severe4,157,270 (71%)
- Signing off under your license2,594,245 (44%)
- The hands-on craft1,872,213 (32%)
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself1,299,325 (22%)
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts756,620 (13%)
- Running AI inside the business systems513,490 (9%)
- The conversations252,463 (4%)
- Dealing with people outside the organization107,060 (2%)
- Handling protected records7,930 (under 1%)
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this industry's paid hours were within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 24%. Today's estimate: 34%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 46% of the working time of the people in this industry as physical work. For 16% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 12% in a purpose-built cell, 4% in a structured facility. 0.20 of 3.
- Not physical 54%
- No robot shown 30%
- In a purpose-built cell 12%
- In a structured facility 4%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. Weighted by the people in each occupation; each job's page names the robot behind each rated task.
Where the hours are
Jobs by hours within reach now. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index. The 40 largest jobs hold 80% of the people.
| People | Pay here | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | 1,902,960 | 37% | 1.5 billion | $100K |
| Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 221,430 | 84% | 389 million | $47K |
| Medical Records Specialists | 51,740 | 94% | 101 million | $59K |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | 158,730 | 31% | 101 million | $134K |
| Pharmacists | 95,760 | 48% | 95 million | $157K |
| Medical Assistants | 133,400 | 29% | 81 million | $47K |
| Radiologic Technologists and Technicians | 135,290 | 27% | 76 million | $81K |
| Nurse Practitioners | 73,610 | 46% | 71 million | $136K |
| Customer Service Representatives | 52,720 | 64% | 71 million | $46K |
| Interviewers, Except Eligibility and Loan | 61,700 | 50% | 64 million | $46K |
| Billing and Posting Clerks | 35,330 | 85% | 62 million | $49K |
| Pharmacy Technicians | 80,740 | 34% | 57 million | $51K |
People: BLS counts for this industry, May 2025. Pay here: the median paid for the job in this industry, else its mean, else the national median. 357 smaller jobs (1,241,800 people) count in every total but are not listed. Task data covers 99% of the industry's people; the rest are in BLS "all other" groups with no task list, or in counts BLS does not publish.
The tasks with the most hours within reach by the end of 2028
Across the whole industry, on the chosen pace and reliability.
- Perform administrative or managerial functions, such as taking responsibility for a unit's staff, budget, planning, or long-range goals.Registered Nurses319 million hours60% of the task within reach
- Maintain accurate, detailed reports and records.Registered Nurses218 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Order, interpret, and evaluate diagnostic tests to identify and assess patient's condition.Registered Nurses113 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Work with individuals, groups, or families to plan or implement programs designed to improve the overall health of communities.Registered Nurses104 million hours40% of the task within reach
- Modify patient treatment plans as indicated by patients' responses and conditions.Registered Nurses103 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Direct or coordinate infection control programs, advising or consulting with specified personnel about necessary precautions.Registered Nurses102 million hours50% of the task within reach
- Assess the needs of individuals, families, or communities, including assessment of individuals' home or work environments, to identify potential health or safety problems.Registered Nurses102 million hours30% of the task within reach
- Perform bookkeeping duties, such as credits or collections, preparing and sending financial statements or bills, and keeping financial records.Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants89 million hours100% of the task within reach
- Engage in research activities related to nursing.Registered Nurses77 million hours80% of the task within reach
- Consult and coordinate with healthcare team members to assess, plan, implement, or evaluate patient care plans.Registered Nurses59 million hours40% of the task within reach
Scan a typical company in this industry
The industry's largest jobs, in the proportions BLS counts across the whole industry, at the pay it pays, run through the company scan. A starting point before you have a roster, or a benchmark for the one you have. Or choose the whole industry: every occupation BLS publishes for it with task data, at its nationwide headcount, the sector report ($249 for the full report, or included in Pro).
Next to this industry
Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
How it is built: BLS counts the people in each job in this industry; each job's tasks and their lengths give its share within reach at a date; the industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Value is pay times 1.43 for benefits and payroll costs. Seen in Claude use splits today's share by whether Anthropic saw people bring each task to Claude in 2025; other AI tools are not counted. How it works
Questions about this industry
- How much of the work in General Medical and Surgical Hospitals is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 34% of the paid hours in General Medical and Surgical Hospitals are within reach of AI models now and 38% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (37% to 38% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which jobs in General Medical and Surgical Hospitals carry the most hours within reach?
- By hours within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index): Registered Nurses (1,902,960 people, 37% of their time, about 1.5 billion hours a year); Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants (221,430 people, 84% of their time, about 389 million hours a year); and Medical Records Specialists (51,740 people, 94% of their time, about 101 million hours a year).
- Which tasks in General Medical and Surgical Hospitals carry the most hours within reach by the end of 2028?
- Perform administrative or managerial functions, such as taking responsibility for a unit's staff, budget, planning, or long-range goals (Registered Nurses, about 319 million hours a year); Maintain accurate, detailed reports and records (Registered Nurses, about 218 million hours a year); and Order, interpret, and evaluate diagnostic tests to identify and assess patient's condition (Registered Nurses, about 113 million hours a year).
- What would people working in General Medical and Surgical Hospitals learn first?
- Among the 5,869,343 people in jobs reviewed task by task, the skills most often among the first two things to learn on their job's page are judgment where errors are severe (4,157,270 people); signing off under your license (2,594,245 people); and the hands-on craft (1,872,213 people). By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 62% of their working time stays with people, 33% becomes checking a model's work and 4% can be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- How is this estimated?
- BLS counts the people in each occupation in General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (May 2025); each occupation's share of working time within reach comes from its O*NET tasks, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. The industry's share is those shares weighted by people. Task data covers 99% of its people, and 95% are in occupations reviewed task by task. Data checked November 10, 2026.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.