Balancing Clinical Evaluations and Documentation
Comprehensive autism evaluations require psychologists to integrate information from multiple sources, clearly communicate clinical findings, and develop individualized recommendations that help families understand their child’s needs. It’s highly skilled work that takes years of training. Dr. Tohar Scheininger, a psychologist at Action Behavior Centers, calls it translation, and it’s one of the aspects of the job she spoke with the most energy about.
But repetitive documentation tasks such as organizing information, formatting reports, populating tables, and carrying information across sections take up considerable time.
For Dr. Scheininger, the formatting, spacing, and editing “ended up taking a lot of my energy, more than I would have liked.” It wore on job satisfaction too. Those manual, repetitive parts “made me feel a little bit more frustrated with some of the ins and outs of my job.”
Dr. Jacqueline Faison-Harry, another psychologist at ABC, used one word for report writing before the change: “Painful.”
These administrative tasks added pressure to the evaluation process. Dr. Scheininger describes how administrative demands can create bottlenecks on getting answers to families, and “the cognitive fatigue that’s associated with that bottleneck.” Dr. Faison-Harry felt it as a time crunch, “which can be a factor when you have to get reports out to families who need them.”
Streamlining Documentation While Preserving Clinical Judgment
To help address these challenges, ABC introduced Frontera Health’s Diagnosis Builder tool that assists with report drafting.
The psychologist inputs their test results, interview notes, behavioral observations, and parent questionnaires. Frontera’s platform uses that information to assemble an initial report draft.
Importantly, the technology supports the documentation process, not the clinical decision making process or diagnostic impressions.
ABC psychologists remain fully responsible for interpreting assessment findings, determining whether diagnostic criteria are met, developing individualized recommendations, and reviewing and finalizing every report.
Dr. Leslie Speer, Assistant Regional Director of Psychology, emphasized the importance of maintaining this distinction. “Frontera made it very clear that their tool is not going to ever make the diagnosis,” she said. “It was always going to be clinician judgment.”
Psychologists can review, edit, and refine every section of the generated draft to ensure the final report accurately reflects their clinical conclusions and the individual needs of each child.
Dr. Faison-Harry uses that flexibility regularly. “I often take things out or decide to add something, or reword things,” she said. “You’re in control of the final product and that diagnostic decision.”
By reducing the time spent on repetitive drafting and formatting tasks, the technology allows psychologists to devote more of their attention to the clinical aspects of evaluations that require their expertise.
More Time for Clinical Work and Answers for Families
For ABC psychologists, the time saved on documentation has made a meaningful difference in their day to day work, from spending more time on complex clinical questions to helping families get the answers they need.
Reinvesting Time in Clinical Work
During ABC’s pilot, psychologists saw report writing time cut in half, while maintaining full responsibility for reviewing and finalizing every report. That time gives psychologists more room to focus on the clinical work that requires their expertise.
Dr. Amanda Hirsch, Senior Psychologist at ABC, and Dr. Scheininger both shared how streamlining documentation has given them greater flexibility to devote time to important aspects of their clinical work, including case conceptualization, considering differential diagnoses, and tailoring recommendations to each child’s needs.
For Dr. Scheininger, that means having more time for what she describes as “doing what I actually feel like I was trained to do.” The frustration has eased, too. “It feels really nice.”
Some of that time also goes back to supporting colleagues. Dr. Faison-Harry now has more room for case consultations when colleagues bring her challenging cases and for researching clinical questions that come up for the team.
Getting Families Answers Sooner
Reducing documentation time has also helped psychologists get completed reports back to families. As Frontera was rolled out across ABC’s psychology team, the percentage of initial diagnostic evaluation reports completed on time increased by approximately 25%.
Dr. Faison-Harry sees the relief families feel when they receive timely, clinically appropriate answers that help them better understand their child’s needs and next steps. This brings her some relief too, sharing, “Less pressure, less stress, honestly.”
When an ASD diagnosis is appropriate, timely evaluation can also help families access intervention services. “For younger children,” she adds, “we know the earlier access to intervention can shape a child’s trajectory.”
A Thoughtful Approach to New Technology
ABC’s approach to implementing Frontera’s technology reflects a commitment to carefully evaluating new tools, incorporating clinician feedback, and prioritizing clinical quality and the needs of families.
Dr. Leslie Speer admits to being someone who doesn’t naturally gravitate toward technology. “Being skeptical, wanting to do your research, wanting to try it out,” she said. “I think that’s the sign of a good clinician.”
Before introducing technology to a clinical team, she emphasized the importance of feeling confident in “the ethics, the quality, everything that we can consider as clinicians.”
Dr. Speer tested the technology on her own evaluations, met with the Frontera, asked questions, and worked with the team to refine the workflow to fit ABC’s reporting format and clinical needs.
Throughout the process, Frontera collaborated closely with ABC, listened to clinician feedback and helped tailor the technology to support ABC’s clinical practices and administrative workflows.
For ABC, the goal is to embrace technology in ways that support psychologists’ expertise and help them better serve families.
Dr. Scheininger joined ABC because of its mission to provide timely autism evaluations to families who might otherwise wait months or years for answers. Reflecting on the work of the team, she shared, “I’m going to be really proud to say that I was a part of a team like this.”
Request a demo to learn more about how Frontera’s technology supports clinical report drafting.
