The Voyager: How Artificial Intelligence (AI) is Changing the Physical Therapy Experience

Kyle Barnett, PT, DPT, Cert MDT, SFMA, Area Leader

You are entering the healthcare workforce at a pivotal moment, when artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming part of the conversation in almost every corner of health care; physical therapy will be no exception. For a new clinician, that can feel exciting, confusing, and maybe a little intimidating. Will AI change documentation? Probably. Will it influence how we collect data, monitor progress, and communicate with patients between visits? It already is in some settings. Will it replace clinical reasoning, hands-on-care, and human connection that make physical therapy work? No.

The better question is not whether AI is coming to the physical therapy space, it’s how can I learn to use it responsibly without replacing the parts of care that require clinical expertise and judgement.

Here is how AI will directly impact your experience as a starting PT.

AI May Help Reduce the Documentation Load

Documentation is one of the first areas clinicians are seeing AI make a significant impact. AI supported tools may help by creating draft documentation from a patient encounter, turning brief clinical notes into more complex narratives, or helping organize information into a SOAP-note format via ambient listening and scribe functionality. If used well, you may have more time to focus on the patient in front of you. But remember, you remain responsible for reviewing, correcting, and ensuring accuracy of the documentation.

AI Can Support Measurement, But It Cannot Replace Clinical Reasoning.

As a new graduate, you are building your clinical eye. AI driven device technology can support that process by collecting objective data, like tracking joint angles, gait metrics, and movement compensations patterns in real time. Professional golfers have been using this type of technology for years, which replaces subjective estimation with precise, objective measures. Advanced algorithms can analyze historical data from millions of similar individuals, helping forecast patient progress and customize plans of care. AI can help you notice patterns, but it cannot fully understand a patient’s goals, fear, motivation, irritability, medical history, or the small details you pick up during a session. 

AI May Extend Care Beyond the Clinic

The traditional Home Exercise Program (HEP) printout is notoriously ineffective.  Research has shown that less than 15% of patients are compliant with this form of HEP.  AI-supported platforms can help by guiding exercise, sending reminders, collecting symptoms and adherence data, and alerting the clinical team when a patient may be struggling. This kind of technology can make follow-through easier and provide more useful information between sessions. The goal is not to push another app on the patient. The goal is to provide better support for them for the duration of their plan of care and beyond.

AI Will Change the Work, not the Purpose of the Work

AI may help with documentation, pattern recognition, scheduling workflows, exercise reminders, patient communication, and progress tracking. Those are meaningful changes, especially if they reduce some of the administrative burden that contributes to burnout. 

But physical therapy is still a relationship-based profession. Patients need to feel heard. They need someone who can explain the plan, adjust when things are not working, and help them build confidence in their own body.  

How New Clinicians Should Think About AI

There is no need to become a technology expert overnight. You should, however, stay curious, thoughtful, and responsible. Before trusting an AI tool, ask: Does this make care clearer, safer, or more efficient? Who reviews the information before it becomes part of the medical record? How is patient privacy protected? Does this support clinical reasoning or tempt me to skip it? The clinician who will benefit the most from AI is the one who uses it to create more space for better thinking, better education, and better patient connection.  

What does this mean for your career?

AI can support care, but it cannot replace the human connection at the center of physical therapy. Technology can help gather information, organize documentation, and extend support outside the clinic. Use AI as a tool. Keep building your clinical reasoning and protecting the human connection, to build patient trust.  

Enjoy the Journey! 

LHMPTI