AI Scribe Products: Enhancing Behavioral Health Documentation
By Brett Talbot
AI scribe products have exploded onto the healthcare market. For behavioral health organizations drowning in documentation burden, the promise is compelling: dramatically reduced charting time, improved note quality, and clinicians who can finally focus on patient care.
But not all AI scribes are created equal -especially for behavioral health. Here’s what you need to know when evaluating these products.
What AI Scribes Actually Do
At their core, AI scribes convert clinical encounters into documentation. Most use a combination of:
- Speech recognition - Converting spoken words to text
- Natural language processing - Understanding clinical context and terminology
- Large language models - Generating coherent, structured documentation
The best systems combine these technologies to produce notes that capture clinical content accurately and completely.
Key Features for Behavioral Health
Therapeutic Modality Awareness
Generic AI scribes struggle with behavioral health’s diversity of therapeutic approaches. Look for systems that understand CBT, DBT, motivational interviewing, and other modalities -and document appropriately for each.
Appropriate Clinical Language
Behavioral health documentation has specific requirements: mental status elements, treatment planning language, medical necessity justification. Your AI scribe should produce notes that meet these standards.
Multiple Note Formats
Different organizations, payers, and clinical situations require different documentation formats. Ensure the system supports GIRP notes, DAP notes, progress notes, and other formats you use.
Group Therapy Support
If your organization offers group therapy, this is crucial. Most AI scribes cannot handle multiple speakers effectively. Look for systems with speaker identification capabilities that can generate individual notes for each group participant.
Privacy Controls
Behavioral health conversations are uniquely sensitive. Ensure the product offers:
- Clear data handling policies
- Options to delete recordings after note generation
- HIPAA compliance with appropriate BAA
- Transparency about whether data is used for model training
Questions to Ask Vendors
Training Data
”What data was your system trained on? Does it include behavioral health-specific content?”
Accuracy Metrics
”What accuracy rates do you see in behavioral health documentation? How do you measure this?”
Customization
”Can we customize note formats, terminology, and output structure to match our requirements?”
Integration
”How does your system integrate with our EHR? What’s the workflow for clinicians?”
Security
”Where is data processed and stored? What security certifications do you hold?”
Support
”What implementation support do you provide? How do you handle issues when notes need correction?”
Red Flags to Watch For
- Generic healthcare positioning - Systems not specifically designed for behavioral health often struggle with our unique requirements
- Unclear privacy practices - Vague answers about data handling should raise concerns
- Limited format flexibility - If you can’t customize note structure, you may be stuck with unsuitable output
- No group therapy support - This is technically difficult; lack of support suggests limited behavioral health focus
The ROI Question
AI scribes represent a significant investment. Calculate expected ROI based on:
- Clinician time savings - How many hours will be recovered?
- Capacity expansion - Can clinicians see more patients?
- Quality improvement - Will note quality improve?
- Clinician retention - Will reduced burden improve retention?
Organizations typically see payback within months when documentation time drops by 60-70%.
Our Approach
At Videra Health, we built Sidekick Notes specifically for behavioral health. Our system understands therapeutic terminology, supports multiple note formats, handles group therapy with Speaker Map technology, and maintains the highest privacy standards.
We believe behavioral health deserves purpose-built tools -not generic solutions adapted from other specialties.
Ready to see the difference? Contact us to schedule a demo and discuss your documentation challenges.