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HIPAA & Trust Series · Week 4

Is AI right for you? and which one?

We've made it to the final tip in our 4-part series on HIPAA and Trust in Telehealth. If you missed the first three — covering setting your office space for patient trust, the HIPAA rules you can't skip, and what patients notice in the first five minutes that can keep them coming back — you can catch up anytime at futureofhealthnow.com.

Last week I attended two incredible events right here in Pittsburgh, and AI of course was the main topic of discussion. The Pittsburgh Life Science Association put on the BioHealth Summit and Pittsburgh's AI strike force hosted a 2 day event, called AI Horizons. AI is in the news more than ever and despite some negative publicity, Politicians and industry leaders agreed that while development may slow down (or maybe not), AI is not going anywhere. Tip #4 delves into some use cases for AI in Behavioral Health and Health Care settings and what options may be best for you depending on your specific situation.

Tip #4: Documentation, Data, and Emergency Protocols — Is AI Right for You?

AI tools are showing up everywhere in behavioral health — from note-taking assistants to chatbots that triage client messages. Used well, they can save you hours a week. Used carelessly, they can put client trust (and your compliance) at risk.

Before adopting any AI tool in your practice, ask:

1. Documentation — Does the tool store, transmit, or process client data? If so, do you have a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with the vendor? No BAA means no green light, full stop.
2. Data handling — Where does the data live, and for how long? Understand whether the vendor trains its models on your data (it shouldn't, without explicit opt-in) and how encryption is handled both in transit and at rest.
3. Emergency protocols — If a client discloses a safety concern (suicidal ideation, abuse, etc.) in a session or message an AI tool touches, does your workflow guarantee a human sees it immediately? AI should never sit between a client in crisis and your response.

The bottom line: AI can be a great fit for scheduling, admin, and even draft documentation — but it should support your clinical judgment, never replace it in moments that matter most.

That wraps our HIPAA and Trust in Telehealth series. Thanks for following along — if you have questions about vetting a specific tool for your practice, just hit reply. We're rolling out a Virtual Care Operations Assessment with current and past clients and already seeing tremendous success. If you'd like to take 2 weeks and learn exactly what you should be doing here at the end of 2026 to optimize your virtual care operations, let me know and click here for more information.

Talk soon,
Dan

P.S. Missed previous weeks? Catch up on setting up a space patients trust, and see all our past Telehealth Tips at futureofhealthnow.com and don't miss next week's bonus Tip on Virtual Care Operations - it has the potential to save you hours each week while increasing your revenue. It's going to be a big one!

P.P.S. If you're newer to virtual care, this is the last chance to get the 5 week coaching program under $1000. We've learned many lessons from helping thousands of providers do virtual care. Start or Grow your Virtual Care Program the right way and avoid any headaches down the road! Click the link below.

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General Questions about AI? The Superhuman Newsletter is the leader in explaining AI use to everyday users. And their sponsorship keeps our Newsletter Tips Free to all of you. Support them and learn to use AI prompts effectively by clicking the link below:

Also: Want to go back and look at our previous Telehealth Tips? Click Here​