Why automated documentation might be the antidote to staff burnout your practice has been looking for

The growing demand for mental health services has left therapists as busy as ever. It’s becoming increasingly rare to find a provider whose case load isn’t full (read: bursting at the seams). 

Therapists are working hard to meet the needs of client after client off of a seemingly endless waiting list, but this hard work comes at a cost. Clinicians who repeatedly spread themselves thin to meet their practice’s demands are at risk for burnout. And, it’s not hard to understand why. A full-time clinician at a busy outpatient practice might have just 5-10 minutes between each session to write their notes, send handouts or homework discussed in session, briefly prepare for their upcoming client, and take care of personal needs. Day in and day out, these tasks contribute to feelings of overwhelm. 

Despite their best intentions, a burned out clinician is more likely to deliver lower quality care. Over time, if employers don’t put measures in place that help therapists feel supported, they could face employee retention problems. Blueprint Sessions is one place to start. 

Blueprint Sessions can help

Sessions is a comprehensive care tool on Blueprint’s platform that helps therapists run more effective therapy sessions. Clinicians can quickly identify how a client is progressing towards their treatment goals, receive guidance around and keep track of which interventions are being delivered, and assign relevant homework to reinforce skills discussed in session. Sessions takes care of all the less glamorous parts of therapy so that clinicians are free to focus on delivering high quality treatment.

When a clinician uses Blueprint to run their session, all of their client’s data that has been gathered between sessions (i.e., self-report assessments, completed homework, lifestyle correlates, critical events, and more) and during a session (i.e., interventions, follow-up homework) is translated into an auto-generated progress note.

With just a few clicks, Blueprint is automatically generating a first draft progress note that can be reviewed, adjusted, and copied and pasted into any EHR.Here’s a preview of the documentation that Blueprint would automatically generate for a therapist using DBT skills to treat a client with depression and emotion regulation difficulties.

Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was completed by client on Friday 2/17/23. A score of 10 on the PHQ-9 indicates a Moderate response. There has been no change from a score of 10 since the last assessment, but a significant decrease from a score of 27 since baseline. 

Session began with reviewing changes in client’s daily ratings of energy, sleep, and social engagement throughout the week. Engaged client in the DBT skill Check the Facts (Emotion Regulation module) in which client learned how to change emotions through changing how we evaluate situations. Client will complete Check the Facts worksheet for homework. 

Does this really save time?

Not only does this save time, when a therapist uses Blueprint across a full caseload, it can save multiple hours per week!

90% of therapists who used Sessions reported that the automated documentation feature has saved them time compared to writing notes manually. 

But, exactly how much time are they saving? Over half of Sessions adopters reported that automated documentation saved them over 5 minutes per progress note. For the average therapist who has just 10 minutes between clients, Sessions has the power to give that therapist half of their time back before jumping in to see their next client.

For full-time therapists with an average caseload of 25 clients per week, this equates to a time savings of over two hours per week. Practice owners, take note! Research shows that documentation burden is a top driver of burnout, so shaving off two hours per week can allow your employees to thrive, remain more satisfied and in turn deliver better care.

Remember the old adage about putting on your own oxygen mask before helping others do the same? Therapists need these precious minutes between clients to take care of themselves. Now with Sessions, Blueprint can help ensure timely, high quality documentation while giving your staff a chance to breathe. 

Grow your practice by setting up a reliable foundation. Click here to start your free trial with Blueprint today. 

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