How to use this: take these questions to every vendor demo and ask for written answers. A good answer is specific, dated and matches the vendor's own terms. If a vendor will not answer, treat the item as Ask vendor.
The questions
1. Behavioral health documentation
Show me a real intake, a med-management follow-up and a therapy progress note from your tool. Which note formats (SOAP, DAP, BIRP) and which sections (MSE, risk assessment) are built in, and which do I have to build?
2. HIPAA and the BAA
Will you sign a BAA before I use any patient data, on my plan and during a trial? Which subcontractors touch audio, transcripts or notes, and do they have BAAs with you?
3. Therapy conversations and nuance
How does the tool handle emotion, quoted patient language and things it cannot hear, such as tone or nonverbal cues? What does it leave out?
4. Human review, errors and bias
What must I review before signing? How do I flag an error, and what do you do with that flag? How do you test for bias in mental health notes?
5. Sensitive content and psychotherapy notes
Can I keep psychotherapy notes and sensitive details (trauma, substance use, third parties) out of the chart and out of your system? How do you handle 42 CFR Part 2 records?
6. EHR fit and customization
Does it integrate with my EHR, or is it copy and paste? Can I edit templates and review the transcript?
7. Retention of audio and transcripts
How long are audio, transcripts and notes kept by default, can I shorten that, and what is kept for troubleshooting?
8. Model training
Is any of my data, identified or de-identified, used to train or improve models? Can I opt out in writing?
9. Pricing and fit
Is it priced per clinician, per note or by usage? Is it built for solo practices, groups or health systems? What happens to my data if I cancel?
10. Evidence
What published studies or independent evaluations support accuracy and time saved, and were any done in psychiatry or therapy?
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Where these topics come from
The topics follow the questions the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on Mental Health IT considers relevant when assessing an AI scribe, plus BAA, model training and psychotherapy-notes questions we add for behavioral health. The wording here is ours. APA has published some vendors' answers on its AI Scribe Tools page; APA states those answers were not independently verified, and APA does not endorse any tool. This site is not affiliated with APA.