Heidi AI Reduces Burnout for Mental Health Workers
In this article, you’ll discover:
- How an AI scribe cuts paperwork time by 66%.
- Why clinicians report better work-life balance.
- The impact on patient care and presence.
- How this tool fights burnout effectively.
If you have visited a doctor or therapist recently, you might have noticed something. They spend a lot of time looking at their computer screen to type notes. It is a necessary part of the job, but it takes time away from the patient. It also causes a lot of stress for the people trying to help us.
But new data shows that a tool called Heidi is changing this. It is an AI “medical scribe” that listens and types for the doctor. A recent study in Ottawa proves it is making a huge difference for mental health workers.
Cutting Down Paperwork
The Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (OICBT) tested Heidi for four months. They wanted to see if it could help their team handle the heavy workload. The results were clear. Using this AI tool cut documentation time by 66 percent.
Before using Heidi, clinicians spent about 213 minutes a week on notes. With Heidi, that dropped to just 71 minutes. That is hours of free time given back to busy professionals every single week.
Feeling Better at Work
Saving time is great, but feeling good is even better. The study showed that clinicians felt much happier with their work-life balance. Satisfaction scores jumped from 55 percent to 83 percent after using the tool.
Dr. Pete Kelly helps run the institute. He says this technology allows his team to focus on patient care instead of paperwork. When doctors aren’t worrying about typing every word, they can be more present with the person sitting in front of them. It leads to less burnout and a happier team.
A Helpful Partner

Heidi works by transcribing notes in real-time. It can structure clinical notes, write referrals, and create handouts instantly. It basically handles the boring administrative tasks.
This tool is already huge in Canada. In just 18 months, it has saved clinicians over 3.3 million hours of work. It is used in emergency rooms and clinics, supporting over 2 million patient visits every month. It can even understand 115 languages, which helps doctors connect with all kinds of patients.
It is exciting to see how technology can actually make healthcare feel more human.

