Background
Overcomers Counseling is a mental health practice operating across Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and Aurora. With a team of 85-90 therapists, the practice offers therapeutic services for individuals aged 3 and up, specializing in areas such as play therapy and complex trauma. Established with a mission to provide high-quality, accessible mental health care, Overcomers Counseling accommodates a high volume of in-person and telehealth appointments. With a strong focus on patient care, they face the challenge of managing detailed documentation requirements from insurance companies, which can be time-consuming for their clinicians.
Challenges
- Time-consuming note-taking With 85-90 therapists working across multiple locations, clinicians were spending excessive time on documentation after each session. This left them with limited time to take breaks or prepare for their next patient.
- Difficulty meeting insurance documentation standards Due to tight session turnaround times, about 7 minutes between each session, clinicians struggled to meet the documentation requirements for insurance, making it hard to maintain detailed and personalized notes that meet audit expectations.
- Inefficient and impersonal EHR systems The existing Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems were not tailored to each patient's progress, leading to generic documentation that often missed essential details for accurate treatment plans.
Despite these ongoing challenges, Overcomers Counseling had been trying various approaches to improve the process, but these efforts only led to temporary improvements. It wasn’t until they discovered Heidi that they experienced real change.
Solution
Overcomers Counseling decided to adopt Heidi after Garrett and Jenny, the practice owners, recognized its potential to streamline the note-writing process and improve efficiency. Heidi’s AI-powered transcription service created more individualized, accurate, and detailed notes that met the standards set by insurance companies without the repetitive manual input.
The practice rolled out Heidi across all locations over 15 weeks, with impressive results in both clinician satisfaction and operational efficiency. Heidi was integrated into their daily workflow, allowing clinicians to use it for generating intake notes, progress notes, treatment summaries, and more.
Impact
- Reduced documentation time “This system has been great, and has been helped me [save] a lot of time.” Newer clinicians saved significant time—up to 30 minutes per session—while experienced clinicians saved about 5 minutes per note. The overall time saved equated to 27,000 minutes across all clinicians.
- Improved clinician satisfaction 89% of clinicians experienced a reduction in burnout, and 89% also reported an increase in professional fulfillment. Clinicians felt less overwhelmed by the note-writing process and more confident in their ability to focus on patient care rather than administrative tasks.
- Return on investment Overcomers Counseling experienced a 7x return on investment, saving $44,000 in clinical time in just 15 weeks. The improved efficiency also resulted in enhanced employee retention and a better overall work environment.
What’s next
Looking ahead, Heidi continues to provide Overcomers Counseling with the tools they need to stay on top of documentation without compromising patient care.