Podiatrists
Scrub through 141years of this role's history, from when it first emerged, through every wave of technology that reshaped it, to the cited projections for where it's heading next.
The tools that defined the work
Select an era to see how it reshaped the work.
Hand instruments + plaster-cast orthotics (early professional era)
The first generation of credentialed chiropodists worked with hand tools that had changed little since the era of itinerant corn-cutters: scalpels, curettes, nail nippers, and probes. What distinguished the professional was not the tool kit but the training to use it safely. X-ray technology, available commercially from the late 1890s, entered podiatric practice slowly; most early chiropodists could not afford or access hospital radiography and relied on manual examination. Foot orthotics were hand-fabricated from leather, felt, cork, or plaster of Paris and fitted in the office. The absence of any powered or mechanised instrument meant that clinical throughput was low and procedures were time-intensive.
Work toolChanging equipment Fluoroscopy + podiatric X-ray (weight-bearing radiographs for surgical planning)
Weight-bearing foot radiographs became the standard diagnostic tool for podiatric surgical planning in the post-war era. The introduction of portable and office-based X-ray units put radiographic capability within reach of private podiatric practices for the first time. Weight-bearing views of the foot, which reveal deformities under load that non-weight-bearing films hide, became central to bunion correction, flatfoot reconstruction, and arthritis staging. Fluoroscopy enabled real-time intraoperative guidance for fracture reduction and hardware placement. This era also saw the first power instruments (electric drills and oscillating saws) enter the surgical suite, making bone-cutting faster and more precise than manual osteotomy tools.
Work toolChanging equipment Medicare physician recognition + surgical expansion (DPM as licensed physician)
The Social Security Amendments of 1965, which created Medicare, defined "physician" under Section 1861(r) to include a doctor of podiatric medicine. This was a pivotal institutional technology in the sociological sense: it embedded podiatry inside the US healthcare payment infrastructure, unlocked hospital admitting privileges, and enabled the DPM to perform foot-and-ankle surgery in accredited operating rooms rather than office procedure rooms only. The Medicare definition gave podiatrists the same legal standing as MDs and DOs for foot-related procedures, attracting better-qualified applicants to the profession and raising compensation. Surgical volume expanded substantially through the 1970s and 1980s, with bunionectomy, hammertoe correction, and metatarsal procedures becoming office-level or ambulatory-surgery-centre procedures.
Effect on the workMedicare recognition led to a gradual increase in the number of DPM training positions and accredited programmes through the 1970s-1990s, modestly growing the profession from the roughly 7,000-8,000 practitioners of the 1970s toward a peak of approximately 12,000-14,000 in the 2000s-2010s.
Work toolChanging equipment CAD/CAM orthotics + computerised gait analysis (first digital pressure mapping)
The 1980s and 1990s brought the first computerised plantar pressure-mapping systems into podiatric practice, replacing the ink-footprint and plaster-cast methods that had dominated orthotic fabrication since the early 20th century. Tekscan (founded 1987) introduced thin-film pressure sensors that could capture dynamic foot-floor forces during walking; F-Scan in-shoe sensors followed. CAD/CAM orthotic fabrication, which allowed a digital scan to drive a CNC milling machine producing a custom device, began replacing the hand-grinding and vacuum-forming lab work that previously required a skilled orthotic technician. The transition shortened custom-device turnaround from two to three weeks to two to three days and reduced the skill barrier to prescribing functional orthotics.
Work toolChanging equipment Electronic health records + podiatry-specific EHR modules (Modernizing Medicine, Practice Fusion, Kareo)
The HITECH Act of 2009 and its Meaningful Use incentive programme drove EHR adoption across health professions, including podiatry. Podiatry-specific EHR modules from vendors like Modernizing Medicine (EMA Podiatry), Practice Fusion, and Kareo allowed DPMs to document wound measurements, nail procedures, surgical notes, and orthotics fittings in structured templates rather than free-text narrative. The shift improved billing accuracy (CPT code suggestions from documentation), enabled outcome tracking (wound-size trends, return visit intervals), and created the structured data foundation on which later AI tools such as Net Health Tissue Analytics would build. EHR adoption in small podiatric practices lagged large hospital systems by approximately five years, with most solo and small-group practices fully electronic only by 2015-2018.
Electronic recordDigital charting Remote temperature monitoring + smart insoles (Podimetrics SmartMat 2014, first-generation wearable sensors)
Podimetrics launched the SmartMat in 2014 as an FDA-cleared remote patient monitoring device that detects plantar temperature differentials predictive of developing diabetic foot ulcers up to five weeks before visible breakdown. Patients with high-risk diabetic neuropathy step on the mat for 20 seconds daily; the AI-backed system alerts the care team when asymmetric temperatures exceed a clinical threshold. The device shifted podiatric care for diabetic patients from a reactive, clinic-visit-driven model toward a continuous remote surveillance model. By 2022, Podimetrics had raised $45 million in Series C funding and the SmartMat had demonstrated 97 percent sensitivity for predicting plantar foot ulcers in clinical validation studies. The broader effect was a restructuring of the high-risk diabetic-foot appointment: the DPM's time shifted toward interpreting alerts and managing escalations rather than routine surveillance examinations.
Effect on the workRemote monitoring enables one DPM to manage a significantly larger panel of high-risk diabetic patients, potentially reducing per-patient time while improving outcomes. The efficiency gain supports the case for podiatry's role in diabetic limb-salvage programmes, but does not directly reduce the number of podiatric practitioners needed.
Bedside monitoringVitals at a glance AI wound imaging (Swift Medical wound photography AI, Net Health Tissue Analytics)
Swift Medical launched its smartphone-based AI wound imaging platform in 2017, applying computer vision to standardised wound photographs to automatically segment tissue types, measure wound area and depth to within 95 percent of manual measurement accuracy, and generate a structured wound assessment report. Net Health Tissue Analytics (founded 2015, FDA Breakthrough Device designation) added CPT billing code automation from wound documentation and EHR integration via API. Together these tools replaced the ruler-and-clock manual wound measurement method that had been standard in diabetic foot care since the 1970s. A systematic review published in Journal of Wound Care (2020) found that AI wound-measurement platforms reduced documentation time by 79 percent per wound visit. The tools also created a longitudinal wound image record, enabling trend analysis that was impractical with manual methods.
Work toolChanging equipment AI ambient scribes + AI radiographic measurement (Heidi Health, Freed, IB Lab FROG)
From 2020 onward, two distinct AI tool categories entered podiatric practice in parallel. Ambient AI scribes (Heidi Health, Freed, Nabla) listen to the patient encounter and generate a structured SOAP note with podiatry-specific templates, recovering an estimated 34 clinical days per year per DPM previously lost to post-visit typing. AI radiographic measurement (IB Lab FROG, CE-MDR cleared, launched November 2024) automatically measures 17 standardised landmarks on weight-bearing foot X-rays, replacing manual goniometry and reducing measurement variability between clinicians. Both categories represent augmentation of the DPM's workflow rather than substitution: the AI handles measurement and documentation, freeing the clinician for diagnosis, patient communication, and procedural work that requires physical presence.
Work toolChanging equipment
What credible sources project
Scrub the slider past now to anchor each scenario on the scrubber. The spread is the range of futures credible sources project for this role.
What's shifting in the work right now
The historical view above shows how this role has moved. This is the present-day detail: which AI tools are picking up which tasks, where the edge still is, and the natural directions this work can grow.
What's changing in your day
Three parts of your work where AI is already doing real lifting, and what stays yours.
AI is sitting alongside you hereGenerate post-visit clinical notes and SOAP documentation using an AI ambient scribe that listens to the patient encounter, structures the note, and populates the podiatry EHR — reducing per-visit documentation time from 10-15 minutes to review-and-sign.
Generate post-visit clinical notes and SOAP documentation using an AI ambient scribe that listens to the patient encounter, structures the note, and populates the podiatry EHR — reducing per-visit documentation time from 10-15 minutes to review-and-sign.[6],[7]
Adopt an AI scribe with podiatry-specific templates (procedure notes, wound debridement, orthotic fitting); review every AI-drafted note before signing — the AI cannot verify physical exam findings it did not observe.
AI is sitting alongside you hereRemotely monitor high-risk diabetic patients for pre-ulcerative inflammation using a daily temperature-sensing mat (SmartMat)
Remotely monitor high-risk diabetic patients for pre-ulcerative inflammation using a daily temperature-sensing mat (SmartMat); review AI-flagged alerts and triage which patients need an urgent in-person visit before visible ulceration develops.[8],[9]
Integrate SmartMat alert workflows into your practice's care management protocol; develop triage criteria for acting on AI-flagged asymmetric temperature differentials before the ulcer forms.
AI is taking this onReview AI-assisted billing and CPT code recommendations generated from wound debridement and surgical procedure notes, verify accuracy, and submit claims — replacing manual charge capture with AI-suggested codes drawn directly from the clinical note.
Review AI-assisted billing and CPT code recommendations generated from wound debridement and surgical procedure notes, verify accuracy, and submit claims — replacing manual charge capture with AI-suggested codes drawn directly from the clinical note.[10]
Validate AI CPT suggestions against procedure documentation; understand coding rules for complex wound care (CPT 97597/97598, wound size thresholds) so you catch upcoding or downcoding errors the AI may introduce.
Where this role is heading
Natural next steps for someone with your foundation: not exits, evolutions.
Medical and Health Services Managers
Experienced podiatrists who build and operate multi-site group practices already handle hiring, supply procurement, payer contracting, and EHR selection — the core competencies of health services management. AI-driven wound care documentation and remote monitoring platforms require clinical champions who can evaluate and deploy them at scale.
- · Healthcare operations and revenue cycle management
- · EHR platform evaluation (Net Health, Swift Medical integration workflows)
- · Value-based care contracting and quality-metric reporting
- · MBA or MHA coursework in healthcare finance
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