AI Documentation Drives Record Billing Performance for VOA Northern Rockies

Overview

Volunteers of America (VOA) Northern Rockies delivers essential health and human services across Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota, supporting veterans, individuals in addiction recovery and communities in need. As documentation demands increased across behavioral health, the organization faced growing pressure to maintain quality care while meeting internal and regulatory requirements.

To address clinician workload and persistent documentation delays, VOA Northern Rockies partnered with Netsmart to implement Bells, an AI-assisted documentation solution designed to reduce administrative burden while strengthening documentation quality and timeliness.

Problem

Before adopting AI clinical documentation, VOA Northern Rockies struggled to meet its standard for completing notes within 24 hours. Excessive clicking and typing made documentation time-consuming and frustrating for clinicians, pulling focus away from direct patient care and contributing to burnout.

Judy Wallace, licensed professional counselor and licensed addictions therapist at the outpatient facility, experienced these challenges firsthand. At one point, Wallace carried a caseload of approximately 120 individuals while facilitating group sessions in a short-staffed environment. Documentation routinely extended into evenings and weekends, creating an unsustainable workload.

Documentation demands often consumed eight to 10 hours of staff time each week, extending administrative work into clinical hours and personal time. The documentation burden has been reduced thanks to Bells.”

Judy Wallace, Therapist, Volunteers of America (VOA) Northern Rockies

From a leadership perspective, the issue extended beyond individual schedules. Aimee Foster, Chief Program Officer and licensed clinical psychologist, noted that repeated note-writing trainings did little to address the volume of documentation required. Late notes slowed billing cycles, increased stress across teams and threatened staff retention in a highly competitive workforce environment.

Solution

VOA Northern Rockies evaluated multiple AI-supported documentation platforms before selecting Bells. While other solutions were considered, Foster emphasized the importance of consolidating technology and aligning with existing systems. With the organization already using Netsmart solutions, Bells offered a streamlined approach that fit within current workflows.

Implementation required careful change management. An initial soft launch revealed hesitation around confidentiality and adoption. However, once the proposed solution ignited enthusiastic executive support, leadership committed to a two-phase rollout that included closing clinics for half-day, in-person training sessions. Bells officially hard launched in September 2025 with clear expectations around usage and leadership support to reinforce adoption.

Clinicians began using Bells across multiple documentation types, including assessments, with virtual scribe functionality helping reduce manual entry. The organization prioritized improvements in timeliness, documentation accuracy and billing performance while supporting work-life balance and long-term retention.

Result

Following implementation, VOA Northern Rockies saw measurable improvements across clinical and operational metrics. Signed notes increased and average time-to-sign dropped, allowing billing to occur more quickly and with fewer denials. Foster noted that the organization achieved the highest number of billable services in its history.

“We have seen our highest numbers of billable services since the hard launch that we’ve seen in the years pre-COVID,” Foster said. She also noted that the organization nearly doubled production in December compared to the prior year, with AI-supported documentation playing a substantial role alongside staffing growth.

Late notes declined significantly, easing follow-up workflows and reducing administrative strain. Clinicians regained substantial time each week, which translated into better work-life balance and fewer weekends spent charting. Wallace noted that improved efficiency helped clinicians feel more confident in their documentation while creating space for collaboration and connection with colleagues.

“Documentation demands often consumed eight to 10 hours of staff time each week, extending administrative work into clinical hours and personal time.” Wallace said. “The documentation burden has been reduced thanks to Bells.”

With documentation completed more efficiently and effectively, teams were able to focus on relationships—both with clients and with one another—strengthening morale and overall job satisfaction.

VOA Northern Rockies credits its success to a strong partnership with Netsmart and the Bells team. Ongoing access to support resources, proactive re-engagement and guidance on advanced tools such as supervisor dashboards helped the organization optimize usage and drive sustained improvement.

From the clinician perspective, the impact has been deeply personal. “It’s really helped me in my work-life balance,” Wallace said.

For organizations considering AI-supported documentation, VOA Northern Rockies offers a clear example of what’s possible. When implemented with leadership commitment and frontline champions, automation can reduce administrative burden, improve financial performance and create a more sustainable environment for care delivery. This allows clinicians to spend less time documenting and more time doing the work that matters most.