OneCare Vermont and Heidi Health Partner to Reduce Administrative Burden for Primary Care Practices Across Vermont

OneCare Vermont and Heidi Health Partner, Using AI-Powered Tools to Reduce Administrative Burden for Independent Primary Care Practices Across Vermont‍

COLCHESTER, Vt. – September 25, 2025 – Today, OneCare Vermont and Heidi Health announced a partnership aimed at reducing administrative burden for medical practitioners and improving quality of care for patients across the rural state of Vermont. As part of the agreement, OneCare Vermont will give many of its independent provider practices across the state 12-month subscriptions to Heidi Health’s AI medical scribe. Heidi’s AI scribe automates an average of over two hours of daily administrative work, transcribing and processing clinician-patient conversations, producing clinical notes and follow-up materials so clinicians can focus on delivering quality care to their patients.

According to the 2020 Census, 65% of Vermont residents live in rural areas, making it one of the most rural states in the United States. Between 2019 and 2024, rural America lost nearly 2,500 independent physicians, and an estimated 3,300 rural medical practices shut down, according to a recent report. This shift has caused devastating effects on provider availability, quality of care for patients, and provider wellbeing in states like Vermont.

“The partnership with OneCare Vermont could not come at a more urgent time,” said Dr. Thomas Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Heidi Health. “Rural health systems and practitioners are currently experiencing unprecedented strain. Our tools help reduce some of that burden by returning time and wellbeing to those on the front lines of care.”

Built by doctors, Heidi Health adds a modern, AI-powered tool that works with primary care providers’ existing EHR systems, resulting in no rigid rebuilds or lost functionality. Heidi automates clinical documentation for doctors in a truly personalized way—by learning how the doctor likes to take notes and adapting outputs to meet that style. As a result, clinicians spend less time on time-intensive administrative tasks, which reduces the cognitive load on providers and ultimately means less burnout. Heidi currently supports nearly 2 million patient interactions every week and has been adopted across more than 50 countries in over 200 specialties, and over 110 languages in just a few years.

“Heidi’s AI scribe tool is going to restore precious time back to our clinicians, allowing them to spend more time with patients and less time on tedious documentation,” said Dr. Carrie Weigand, Chief Medical Officer of OneCare Vermont. “The partnership signifies much more than a healthcare organization adapting to the times; it’s a true representation of our collective commitment to preserving the heart of Vermont’s healthcare system.”

Six practices have started to use Heidi’s AI scribe through the partnership: Lakeside Pediatrics, Mountain View Natural Medicine, Thomas Chittenden Health Center, Richmond Family Practice, Primary Care Health Partners, and White River Family Practice. An additional 13-15 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and independent practices are beginning to use Heidi’s AI scribe in the second phase of the implementation.

“This collaboration was made possible through a $320,000 investment by OneCare Vermont Accountable Care Organization (ACO) to support independent primary care practices in adopting AI scribe tools,” explained Linda Cohen, OneCare Vermont, Counsel for Contracting and Innovation. “The OneCare Board of Managers authorized this funding as part of its broader strategy to support independent primary care practices during the final programmatic year of the ACO model and equipping them for future success.”

This initiative is made possible through the strategic use of fraud and abuse waivers granted under the Vermont All-Payer ACO Model. These waivers, provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Vermont Health Access, allow OneCare to implement innovative care delivery models that might otherwise be restricted under traditional regulatory frameworks. “By invoking these waivers, OneCare can fund arrangements that are directly tied to improving care coordination, quality, and efficiency—core goals of the ACO and pay for the Heidi product,” added Cohen.

OneCare Vermont is deeply committed to supporting independent primary care practices and FQHCs, which are essential to maintaining access to high-quality, community-based care across Vermont. By investing in tools like Heidi Health’s AI scribe, OneCare is helping to reduce clinician burnout, improve patient outcomes, and preserve the sustainability of independent practices—especially in rural areas where they are most needed. This investment reflects OneCare’s mission to improve the health and wellbeing of all Vermonters by connecting providers and communities through innovative, value-based care solutions.

OneCare Vermont Accountable Care Organization, LLC a 501(c)(3) organization is a part of the University of Vermont Health Network. OneCare partners with over 5,000 health care providers across the continuum of care and offers tools for better delivering and coordinating patient care to improve quality within a fixed budget. OneCare aims to improve the health and wellbeing of all Vermonters by connecting providers and communities across Vermont. Learn more about OneCare Vermont at https://www.onecarevt.org/.

Heidi’s AI-powered medical scribe streamlines time-intensive administrative tasks to reduce the cognitive load on healthcare providers. Serving nearly 2 million patient interactions a week, Heidi's technology transcribes and processes conversations between doctors and patients to produce clinical notes and follow-up materials – from referral letters to assessments. The tool allows doctors to work more efficiently and focus more on patient care – reducing the risk of burnout. Heidi Health was built with safety and compliance at its foundation – not tacked onto the end. Heidi ensures data security through end-to-end encryption, strict clinician-controlled access with patient consent, global regulatory compliance (HIPAA, GDPR, PIPEDA, APP), certified security standards (ISO27001, SOC2), permanent data deletion upon request, and dedicated support for facilitating patient consent.

Learn more about Heidi’s AI scribe at https://www.heidihealth.com.