Why Security Is Expected, and Governance Is the Difference
AI scribes are common in mental health care. Clinicians rightly ask: beyond security, how does the AI behave, who controls it, and what safeguards exist if something goes wrong?
All clinical software, including AI scribes, must meet HIPAA security requirements. PMHScribe is built on that foundation and extends beyond it with additional safeguards focused on responsible AI delivery.
Security Is the Baseline for Any Clinical Software
Any AI scribe used in mental health must meet the same HIPAA security expectations as an electronic health record.
That includes:
- Hosting on secure, healthcare-grade infrastructure
- Encrypted data in transit and at rest
- Automatic logout and session timeouts
- Role-based access controls
- Audit logs of user activity
These measures protect patient privacy and ensure only authorized users have access to sensitive information. They are required, not unique.
PMHScribe meets these expectations, but we do not treat them as the finish line.
Why Responsible AI Requires More Than Security
Security protects data. Responsible AI governs behavior.
This is where many AI scribes stop short.
A Risk Assessment and Impact Analysis, or RAIA, is how we formally examine how AI is used, what risks exist in mental health documentation, and how those risks are prevented through design.
A RAIA asks practical questions:
- Can the AI act without a clinician?
- Can it send anything automatically?
- Can it exceed a provider’s scope of practice?
- Can errors be reviewed and corrected?
- Is there a clear human decision point?
PMHScribe maintains a formal RAIA to ensure the AI remains a documentation assistant, not a clinical actor.
Voice to Text, Briefly Explained
Voice-to-text is the technology that converts spoken language into written text. It allows clinicians to speak naturally during a visit while the system produces a text transcript in near real time.
In PMHScribe:
- Voice-to-text is used to create a working transcript.
- The transcript supports note drafting.
- Audio is not created or retained as recordings.
- The clinician reviews all resulting documentation.
The goal is efficiency without removing human control.
NPI Validation Is a Core Safety Feature
PMHScribe is the only mental health AI scribe that requires NPI validation or equivalent license verification before granting access.
This ensures:
- Only verified healthcare providers can use the platform.
- Licensure and taxonomy are confirmed.
- Features align with the legal scope of practice.
This step alone eliminates a significant category of risk that many AI tools ignore.
The Right Provider Gets the Right Tools
Mental health care includes multiple disciplines with different responsibilities.
PMHScribe enforces this by design.
For example:
- Counselors cannot access and give psychiatric medication education or send EKG and Lab orders.
- Only appropriately credentialed providers can generate medication-related documentation.
- Medication education is rule-based and tied to verified credentials.
This prevents accidental scope violations and protects both clinicians and patients.
Human Review Is Always Required
PMHScribe does not automate clinical actions.
Providers must:
- Review the generated note
- Edit it as needed
- Save it intentionally
- Choose whether to copy, download, or send content.
Nothing is automatically sent to patients or placed into an EHR.
This structure aligns with mental health regulations that require licensed professional oversight and prohibit autonomous AI decision-making.
Continuous Oversight Through Provider Feedback
Responsible AI is not static.
PMHScribe includes tools that allow providers to:
- Rate note completeness
- Identify sections needing improvement
- Regenerate specific sections
- Provide quality feedback
This feedback is monitored to ensure the AI remains conservative, accurate, and clinically appropriate.
What Makes PMHScribe Different
Many AI scribes focus on speed and automation. We have that, but PMHScribe also focuses on governance.
What sets us apart:
- Verified providers only through NPI validation
- Scope-of-practice enforcement by role
- No autonomous actions
- No automatic patient communication
- Formal risk assessment guiding AI behavior
- Human control at every step
Conclusion
HIPAA secure software is expected in healthcare. Responsible AI goes beyond security.
PMHScribe was built to support clinicians, respect professional boundaries, and ensure that mental health documentation remains under human control.
That is what ethical AI looks like in practice.
