Field notes from healthcare AI
In-depth articles on AI tools, HIPAA compliance, and how clinicians are actually using AI in practice.
FDA's Generative AI Device Paper: What It Means for the AI Tools Your Practice Uses (Comments Due Oct. 19)
On August 18, 2026, FDA published its first detailed sketch of how it might regulate generative AI medical devices: a two-axis risk map, clinician-style competency testing, and more postmarket monitoring. It is not guidance and binds no one yet. Here is what it says, where scribes, CDS, patient chatbots and imaging tools land, what the first 'patient-facing LLM' clearance actually covered, and which of the 26 questions clinicians should answer before the October 19 deadline.
Glass Health Review 2026: An AI Scribe With a Differential Diagnosis Engine (Read the Terms First)
Glass Health pairs ambient scribing with a cited differential diagnosis for $0 to $200 a month. We cover the features, pricing and independent studies, plus what most reviews skip: ads on the two cheapest plans, individual terms that authorize model training on PHI, and a BAA you have to opt in to.
The AI Model Card in Your EHR: What HTI-5 Would Delete, and How to Read Yours First
Since January 2025, every certified EHR has had to publish a plain-language disclosure of what its built-in AI was trained on, how it was validated, and what it should never be used for — free, at a public link. ASTP/ONC has proposed deleting that requirement. Here is how to find yours before it goes, and why your standalone AI scribe was never covered by it in the first place.
AI Dental Scribes in 2026: Bola vs Kiroku vs the Voice Tools Built Into Overjet, Pearl, Videa, and Dentrix Ascend
In twelve months, three leading dental imaging AI companies and Dentrix Ascend shipped its own voice notes and perio charting. Here is how the standalone dental scribes compare with the bundled ones: where the data lands, what happens to the audio, what the research says about voice perio accuracy, and how to pilot one in your hygiene column.
Washington Spent 2026 Trying to Erase State AI Laws. The Ones That Reach Your Scribe Were Never on the List.
Executive Order 14365 does not mention healthcare once. Meanwhile Rhode Island and Louisiana wrote the ambient AI scribe into statute, five states rewrote what a therapist may do with one, and eight states put humans back in front of AI claim denials. Here is every 2026 healthcare AI law that actually binds a practice — and why preemption is not coming to save anyone.
AI Is Answering Your Practice's Phone: The Call Workflow and Its Four Compliance Gates
Freed, Phreesia, and Hyro will all answer your phones now. But an inbound AI receptionist and an outbound AI caller are two different legal products — one is a HIPAA and recording-consent problem, the other is a TCPA problem worth $500 to $1,500 per call. Here is the full call workflow, the four gates where practices get hurt, and what these systems actually deflect.
Your AI Scribe Only Heard Half the Telehealth Visit. The Other Half Is What Auditors Read.
Medicare telehealth is locked in through December 31, 2027 — but the DEA tele-prescribing flexibility expires December 31, 2026. Meanwhile ambient scribes are quietly missing the patient’s side of video calls (browsers suppress it), and no AI will write the five metadata lines that decide whether a telehealth claim survives. Here is the capture setup, the note template, and the modifier 93/95 and 98000-series traps.
Your Patient Inbox Grew 153%. AI Drafts Are Not Fixing It — The Routing Is.
JAMA put a number on the inbox problem in June 2026: patient portal messages up 153% since 2020, office visits up 17%. The industry answer is AI draft replies — and four studies now show they save physicians almost no time, help nurses far more than doctors, and get worse as messages get longer. Here is the workflow that actually moves turnaround time, plus the e-visit billing trap and the disclosure rule that review-before-send quietly solves.
NPs Benefit Most From AI Scribes. They Also Carry a Billing Risk Physicians Do Not.
The largest study of ambient AI scribes found advanced practice providers among the biggest beneficiaries. But an NP note also has to establish which billing pathway applies — incident-to, split/shared, or straight 85% — and no scribe writes that for you. With an OIG audit of incident-to payments underway, here is what your note has to say and how to configure your scribe to say it.
Can You Bill for AI? Medicare Already Cut Your Pay for the Efficiency.
The FDA has authorized more than 1,300 AI-enabled medical devices. Medicare pays separately for about ten of them. Meanwhile CMS cut work RVUs 2.5% across most services on the theory that technology already made you more efficient. Here are the AI codes that actually generate payment in 2026, the taxonomy that decides which tools get one, and what the CY 2027 proposed rule would change.
Upheal vs Mentalyc vs Blueprint vs Twofold: The Cheapest Therapy AI Depends on One Number
Four AI documentation tools for therapists, four incompatible pricing models, and no single winner. Upheal caps at $69/month, Blueprint gives away the EHR and meters the AI at $0.99 a session, Mentalyc is cheapest in the middle if you fit the tier, and Twofold is flat. Here is the break-even math at four real caseloads — plus which of the four uses your sessions to train its AI by default.
Medicare Now Uses AI to Review Your Claims. Seven Months In, Here Is What WISeR Is Actually Doing.
CMS pays six technology vendors a share of the savings on care they decline to approve. WISeR launched January 1, 2026 in six states, survived a 46-50 Senate repeal vote, and started handing out gold-carding exemptions in July. Here is what the model requires, what the early affirmation data shows, and why a fluent AI-written note can still fail the review.
Your AI Scribe Is Changing How You Bill. Your Payer’s Algorithm Already Noticed.
The 2026 research shows coding intensity rises after ambient AI adoption — and payers have started downcoding in response. What the Trilliant, BCBSA, and UCSF data actually says, why an AI scribe can move an E/M level at all, and the audit checklist every practice should be running.
Freed AI Review 2026: The Solo Clinician’s Scribe Grows Up
Freed repriced into three tiers, moved EHR push behind the top one, and launched an AI receptionist. An honest look at what $39 actually buys, where the Chrome-extension integration breaks, and the evidence Freed still does not have.
Most AI Scribe Rollouts Underperform. The 2026 Data Shows Exactly Why.
The largest studies to date find AI scribes save about 13 minutes of EHR time a day and do not move after-hours charting at all — while heavy users save nearly double. The difference is the rollout. Here is what the 2026 implementation evidence says about doing it right.
Nabla Review 2026: The Only AI Scribe That Won a Randomized Trial
Nabla beat Microsoft DAX on the primary endpoint of a randomized trial at UCLA Health published in NEJM AI — the strongest independent evidence any ambient scribe can point to. We break down what the trial actually proved, the four caveats the headline skips, why Nabla quietly abandoned self-serve pricing in 2026, the free tier that reportedly ships without a BAA, and who should still shortlist it.
Suki AI Review 2026: The Ambient Scribe That Wants to Be an Assistant
Suki bets that the note is the boring part — its real pitch is a hands-free voice assistant that documents, answers chart questions, and stages orders and codes inside the EHR. We dig into the KLAS-validated ROI numbers, the pricing Suki won't publish, the adoption catch on the voice layer, and exactly who should shortlist it in 2026.
FDA Just Moved the Line Between a Clinical Tool and a Regulated Device
In January 2026, the FDA rewrote its clinical decision support guidance and pushed more AI software outside its oversight. Single recommendations are now allowed, documentation tools got clearer footing, and generative AI got almost no framework at all. Here is what changed — and why 'no FDA clearance needed' tells you nothing about whether a tool works.
Your AI Scribe Is a Recording Device: Consent, Retention, and the Lawsuit Every Practice Should Read
A proposed class action against Sharp HealthCare alleges patients were recorded by an ambient AI scribe without consent — and the health system, not the vendor, is the defendant. Here is what recording-consent law actually requires, what your scribe really keeps after the note is written, and the consent workflow that protects your practice.
Abridge Review 2026: The Enterprise AI Scribe, Honestly Assessed
Abridge is the most talked-about ambient AI scribe in healthcare — a $5.3B, Best-in-KLAS platform deployed at Kaiser, Mayo, and Duke. But it is enterprise-only, expensive, and not for everyone. Here is an honest look at what Abridge does exceptionally well, who it is really built for, and the caveats the marketing leaves out.
AI Disclosure Laws Are Here: What the 2026 State Rules Mean for Your Practice
HIPAA is no longer the only rulebook for clinical AI. In 2025 and 2026, California, Texas, Utah, Illinois, and others passed laws governing whether you tell patients an AI was involved in their care — and they hit AI scribes and patient-messaging tools directly. Here is what is actually in effect.
AI for the Front Desk in 2026: Cutting No-Shows, Phone Volume, and Front-Office Burnout
No-shows and missed calls are among the most preventable revenue losses in a practice, and AI scheduling and intake tools promise to fix both. We break down what actually works, what the ROI data does and does not show, and how to evaluate front-office AI for your practice.
AI Notes for Therapists in 2026: The Tools, the Privacy Rules, and the Psychotherapy Note Trap
Documentation takes a large share of a therapist's week, and AI can cut session notes to minutes. But mental health data carries privacy protections most clinicians don't fully understand — including the legal difference between psychotherapy notes and progress notes, and new 2026 state consent rules. Here's what therapists need to know.
AI for Dental Practices in 2026: What's FDA-Cleared, What's Hype, and What's Worth Buying
Dental AI splits into two worlds: FDA-cleared imaging tools that read radiographs, and everything else. Knowing the difference protects you legally and clinically. We break down the FDA-cleared platforms, what they actually detect, real pricing, and how to evaluate dental AI without falling for marketing.
Prior Authorization in 2026: How New CMS Rules and AI Are Changing the Worst Part of Practice
Physicians report completing about 40 prior authorizations a week, and most say PA delays care. In 2026, a major federal rule (CMS-0057-F) and a wave of AI tools are reshaping the process. Here's what actually changed, what's coming in 2027, and how AI prior auth tools fit in.
AI Medical Coding and Billing in 2026: Is Autonomous RCM Actually Worth It?
Many claim denials are preventable at the point of capture, and autonomous AI coding promises to prevent them — but the technology is enterprise-priced and uneven. We break down what AI billing actually does, what the ROI evidence shows, where it works, and whether it makes sense for your practice size.
Can You Trust AI Scribe Notes? What the Research Actually Says About Accuracy and Hallucinations
AI scribes save time, but modern ambient scribes still report overall error rates around 1-3% — and in healthcare, even rare errors matter. We dug into the research on AI scribe accuracy, the real failure modes clinicians report, and a practical review workflow that catches errors before they reach the chart.
The Best Free and Low-Cost AI Medical Scribes for Solo Practitioners in 2026
Solo clinicians shouldn't pay enterprise pricing for AI documentation. We dug into every legitimate free and under-$80/month AI scribe option in 2026 — which ones are genuinely free, which ones are bait, and which ones actually fit a solo practice workflow.
Epic Launched Its Own AI Scribe. Should You Stop Using Your Standalone One?
In February 2026, Epic released native AI Charting inside its EHR, and athenahealth's built-in athenaAmbient reached general availability in August 2026. Clinicians now have to choose between native EHR AI and the standalone scribe they're already paying for. Here's how to decide.
AI Medical Scribe Pricing in 2026: What Practices Actually Pay
A real breakdown of what AI medical scribes cost in 2026 — from free tiers to enterprise pricing. Includes per-tier comparisons, hidden costs, ROI math, and a practical framework for figuring out which tier your practice actually needs.
What Does HIPAA Compliance Actually Mean for AI Tools?
"HIPAA compliant" gets used loosely. Some vendors mean it; some are bluffing. Here's what HIPAA actually requires of AI tools, what a Business Associate Agreement does, and the questions every clinician should ask before letting any AI tool touch patient data.
Heidi Health vs Freed AI: An Honest Comparison for 2026
Two of the most-recommended AI medical scribes go head to head. We pulled current pricing, real clinician feedback, and tested both against the same workflow questions clinicians actually ask. Here's where each one wins, where each one loses, and how to decide.
Choosing an AI Medical Scribe: What Healthcare Practices Should Look For
A practical guide to evaluating AI medical scribes — focusing on HIPAA compliance, EHR integration, and the questions every clinician should ask before signing up.