*This article was prompted by a recent conversation I had with Paul Sing from StrataPT on the topic of AI in healthcare. Check that out here.
Are Clinicians Using Third-Party AI Tools in Practice?
Let me answer this question clearly: Yes, your clinicians are probably using AI without telling you. Recording sessions on their phones. Transcribing the audio. Running it through ChatGPT for a summary. Copy-pasting into the EMR at the end of the day. I’m not here to shame anyone for it. Honestly? I get it.
But as the practice owner, you are on the hook for that — whether you knew it was happening or not.
I was on the Strata Stories podcast recently talking through this exact issue, and it’s one of those things that doesn’t get enough attention in the private practice world. Big hospital systems are blocking IP addresses, enforcing device policies, running compliance training. Most private practices? We’re not doing that.
Here’s what I told them:
You don’t need a big policy overhaul. You need two things.
1. Something on paper. Get it into your employee handbook. Patient data stays in the EHR. It doesn’t go into ChatGPT, it doesn’t go into any non-approved platform. It doesn’t have to be complicated — it just has to exist. (You can even use AI to draft the boilerplate. No joke.)
2. A better solution. If your clinicians are gravitating toward these tools, that’s a signal. They’re trying to save time and do their jobs better. Lock everything down without offering an alternative and you won’t just have a compliance problem — you’ll have a retention problem.
Follow the behavior. Then build something around it that actually works.
This was just one piece of a longer conversation about where AI is — and isn’t — adding real value in PT practices right now.
We also got into:
- Why the AI scribe market is more crowded than it looks
- The “digital arms race” happening between practices and payers right now
- Where I’m drawing a hard line on AI in billing decisions
- What the hybrid care model actually looks like in practice
- How we introduced ambient scribing to our patients without freaking anyone out
If you’re a practice owner trying to make sense of all this — or a clinician wondering what’s actually coming — the full episode is worth a listen.
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Join Rafael E. Salazar II, MHS, OTR/L (Rafi), principal of Rehab U Practice Solutions and host of The Better Outcomes Show as he explores the possibilities of a new healthcare. Guests range from clinicians trying new techniques and treatments to executives and entrepreneurs exploring new technology, innovative service delivery methods, business models, and organizational structures. Grab a copy of the book: Better Outcomes: A Guide to Humanizing Healthcare. Or, hire Rafi to speak at your organization or event.
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