8 Myths About Augmented Intelligence in Healthcare

Augmented intelligence (AI) continues to be adopted by providers throughout the healthcare industry. Today, despite the growing enthusiasm for AI and its continued success at demonstrating its usefulness, doubts persist—sometimes suggesting that when it comes to being worth the time and investment necessary to make an impact, AI just isn’t there yet. Frankly, they’re wrong. Here are some common myths about AI in health care and the realities innovative health care providers are actually facing as they weave effective augmentation into their organizations.

Myth No. 1: AI tools lack the experience necessary to prove their usefulness in the healthcare industry.

Reality: Augmented intelligence is currently and has been active across the healthcare landscape for quite some time, from behavioral health to post-acute, public sector, child and family services, intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and beyond. It’s been an active enhancement in modern healthcare for decades and has become a vital component in optimizing every facet of care, helping providers reduce staff burnout related to heavy administrative duties like excess paperwork and notetaking.

Myth No. 2: Adoption of AI tools is limited in the healthcare industry.

Reality: Not so much. AI adoption in healthcare, like many other industries, is growing. Augmented intelligence tools like Bells demonstrated a nearly 20% attachment rate in 2024 among healthcare organizations throughout all behavioral health communities. Eagerness to enhance the services they provide as well as enrich the careers of their staff appears strong among innovative healthcare organizations.

Myth No. 3: Too many AI tools are limited to web-based, online connectivity.

Reality: Not true. Granted, some AI healthcare solutions out there fall prey to such limitations. However, robust and innovative AI solutions like Bells do, in fact, perform offline and do not require adoption of any cumbersome third-party software to do so. Which is a must for providers needing support in the field, or when connectivity falls short.

Myth No. 4: Healthcare AI lacks in-house data science and clinical expertise, limiting its capabilities.

Reality: Untrue. For example, Netsmart employs associates with real-world experience across behavioral health, addictions treatment, IDD and child and family services. These subject matter experts (SMEs) have varying data science and clinical backgrounds to support the needs of our diverse client set. Numerous Netsmart staff are either currently or formerly clinically certified, taking to heart the “created by clinicians, for clinicians.” This helps ensure that the automation tools we offer are more than mere one-size-fits-all solutions and instead are tailored to fit the needs of individual clients.

Myth No. 5: AI products like transcription tools lack case studies demonstrating their effectiveness.

Reality: Actually, there are numerous success stories and case studies available related to the impact of clinical automation assistants. For instance, our own Bells has been mentioned in numerous case studies related to enhancing the operations of healthcare providers. Like this one. And this one. And further detailed in additional resources here. Evaluating an AI solution for your healthcare organization? Be sure to ask all vendors for case studies from current, clients – it's worth making sure their service lines align with yours as well.

Myth No. 6: AI tools like clinical assistants complicate workflows by producing cloned or duplicate notes.

Reality: This is wrong and has been for some time now. Automated clinical assistants have rapidly adapted to the needs of today’s busiest care providers. These tools help reduce burnout and makes staff life’s easier by deploying anti-cloning technology on notetaking tools.

Myth No. 7: Bells requires client consent prior to session recording or providing notetaking assistance.

Reality: True! Yes, Netsmart follows U.S. state and federal laws and client regulations related to one- and two-party consent. Conversely, other vendors may claim they’re not recording (when they actually might be), which presents a compliance risk to users. That being said, we do make it easy to initiate recordings, oftentimes automating the consent process so users don’t need to manually request it.

Myth No. 8: Integrated AI solutions are too complicated to be lightweight, flexible or agile tools.

Reality: Not true. Automation is no longer a one-size-fits-all solution. As adoption grows wider throughout the healthcare industry, integrated AI solutions are regularly meeting the unique needs of organizations at various scales. Automation tools like Bells are able to work across multiple EHRs and demonstrate impressive implementations (don't take it from us - here's a quote - Bells stood out because it deeply integrates into our existing system and aligns with our mission to streamline documentation while keeping client records safe." - Catholic Charities of Baltimore). Not only that, but “lightweight and flexible” shouldn't mean organizations sacrifice connections that do the heavy lifting for clinicians. Integrated automation solutions aren’t just overlayed on top of an EHR; they can contribute to diagnoses, treatment plans, chart summarizations and more. 

Breaking the Myths, Shaping the Future of AI in Healthcare

The truth is out—AI in healthcare is here, making a real impact. By separating fact from fiction, we can shift the conversation from skepticism to strategy, ensuring technology works for providers and the people they serve day in and day out.

As we continue to move into the age of augmented healthcare and predictive analytics, think about the myths you might bust along the way—not just about AI, but about what’s possible in your own organization. We invite you to champion the effort, challenge outdated assumptions and help drive the future of healthcare innovation.

After all, the best way to predict the future is to help shape it.