AI scribe for psychiatrists in Canada
SpecScribe is an AI scribe for psychiatrists in Canada. Once the patient's consent is recorded, it transcribes the visit and drafts a psychiatric consult, follow-up or intake note with a mental status exam, a risk-assessment section for you to complete, and rating-scale scores.
You review, edit and sign every note. Nothing becomes part of the record until you do.
Psychiatry is part of behavioural health, the first area SpecScribe is built for. The psychiatry templates are drafts pending review by practising psychiatrists.
How it works
From the visit to a signed psychiatric note
- 1
Consent, then record
Before transcription starts, SpecScribe checks that the patient's consent to recording and AI-assisted documentation is on file. Recording runs in the browser, so there's nothing to install.
- 2
Transcript during the visit
Speech-to-text runs on a Canadian endpoint. The transcript builds in segments of about 20 seconds while you talk.
- 3
Draft in your template
When the visit ends, common identifiers such as the patient's name, health number, phone and address are removed from the text, and the AI drafts the note in your chosen template and format. AI-written text is highlighted in the editor.
- 4
You complete, edit and sign
You fill in the risk formulation in your own words, correct anything that's wrong, and sign. The session audio is deleted when you sign.
Templates
Psychiatry note templates and sections
Each template has its own ordered sections. The AI drafts one section at a time from what was said in the visit, so a consult reads like a consult and a follow-up stays short.
| Template | Use it for | Sections |
|---|---|---|
| Psychiatric Consultation | New referral assessments with a formulation and recommendations | Reason for referral; history of presenting illness; past psychiatric history; substance use; social and family history; mental status examination; risk assessment; rating scales; formulation and diagnosis; recommendations |
| Psychiatric Follow-up (SOAP) | Medication-management and follow-up visits | Subjective; objective / mental status exam; risk; assessment; plan |
| Psychiatric Intake | First visits for patients starting ongoing care | Presenting concerns; history; mental status examination; risk assessment; impression; initial plan |
All three templates are drafts pending review by practising psychiatrists. Psychiatry practices can also draft biopsychosocial assessments, treatment plans, discharge summaries and stand-alone risk-assessment notes, in SOAP, DAP, BIRP or narrative format.
Mental status and risk
Mental status exam and risk documentation
The mental status examination section covers appearance, behaviour, speech, mood in the patient's own words, affect, thought form and content, perception, cognition, insight and judgement. The draft can only use what was said aloud in the visit, so add anything you observed but didn't say.
The risk-assessment section is yours to complete. The template asks the AI to capture suicidal and homicidal ideation, intent, plan, means and protective factors as they were discussed, along with the risk formulation you stated, and never to downgrade a risk level you stated. SpecScribe doesn't assign a risk level.
Diagnoses are referenced by DSM-5-TR or ICD-10-CA code number only; the templates don't reproduce diagnostic-criteria text.
SpecScribe drafts documentation for you to review and sign. It doesn't diagnose, rate risk, triage or recommend treatment, and the templates tell the AI to record medication decisions exactly as you stated them and never to invent doses.
Rating scales
PHQ-9, GAD-7, MADRS and AUDIT-C built in
Enter the item responses and SpecScribe adds them up using each scale's published scoring, shows the standard severity band, and inserts the score and today's date into the note. If PHQ-9 item 9 is positive, the inserted line reminds you to complete a suicide risk assessment.
PHQ-9
Nine items scored 0–3, total out of 27, with the standard depressive-symptom bands.
GAD-7
Seven items scored 0–3, total out of 21, with the standard anxiety bands.
MADRS
Ten clinician-rated items scored 0–6, total out of 60.
AUDIT-C
Three alcohol-use items scored 0–4, total out of 12, with the usual screening thresholds.
Example
What a follow-up draft looks like
- Subjective
- Ms. A. (fictional, 34) rates her mood "about a 6 out of 10, better than last month." Sleeping six to seven hours a night. Returned to part-time work two weeks ago. Reports no alcohol in the past month.
- Objective / MSE
- Casually dressed, good eye contact. Speech normal in rate and volume. Mood "okay"; affect reactive, mildly anxious. Thought process linear. No perceptual disturbances reported. Insight and judgement fair.
- Rating scales
- PHQ-9: 8/27 — mild depressive symptoms. GAD-7: 9/21 — mild anxiety.
- Risk
- Denied suicidal ideation, intent or plan when asked today. Risk formulation: clinician to complete.
- Assessment
- Patient reports improvement since the last visit, consistent with lower scores. Diagnosis: clinician to confirm.
- Plan
- Medication plan as discussed in the visit — clinician to confirm. Continue weekly therapy sessions. Follow up in 4 weeks, or sooner if symptoms worsen.
Also included
Other tools psychiatry practices use
Patient Recap
A one-glance summary of relevant signed notes from the last 12 months, across the providers in your practice.
Format memory
SpecScribe remembers your preferred note format, section order and writing style.
Patient handouts
Plain-language visit summaries in English or French, drafted from your note and approved by you before sharing.
Prior authorization drafts
A drafted clinical justification and payer PDF for supported forms, for you to review, sign and send. Included on Clinical Command Center.
AHCIP billing review
BetaService-code suggestions and a per-encounter check for possible billing gaps, for you to verify against the current Schedule of Medical Benefits.
Epic EHR connection
BetaWhere an Epic-based EHR connection has been set up for your clinic, schedule, problem list and medications come in and signed notes can be filed back. Otherwise, export a PDF.
Who it's for
Built for psychiatrists and mental health teams
SpecScribe is for psychiatrists in outpatient consult and follow-up practice, and the clinics they work in. Consult notes run long, the mental status exam and risk assessment have to be written up every time, and rating scales get retyped from paper. SpecScribe drafts those parts so your time goes to checking them, not typing them.
We're based in Edmonton, so Alberta details come first: an Information Manager Agreement under the Health Information Act at sign-up, and a billing review aimed at AHCIP. Psychiatrists elsewhere in Canada can use the same templates and note formats.
FAQ
Questions psychiatrists ask
Yes. SpecScribe won't transcribe a visit until the patient's consent to recording and AI-assisted documentation is recorded. Your clinic, as the custodian, decides how consent is obtained; SpecScribe stores the record and checks for it before recording.
Audio goes from your browser to SpecScribe's application servers in Montréal, is transcribed on a Canadian speech-to-text endpoint, and is kept in Canadian cloud storage until you sign the note, when it's deleted. Unsigned audio is purged after 30 days by default. The transcript and note are encrypted with AES-256-GCM before they're saved. The Security page lists every service involved.
No. The psychiatry templates tell the AI to record medication decisions exactly as you stated them in the visit and never to invent doses. Prescribing decisions, doses and quantities are yours to enter and confirm.
No. The risk section captures what was discussed and the risk formulation you stated, and it's yours to complete. SpecScribe doesn't assign a risk level or make clinical decisions.
We haven't published an accuracy study, so treat every note as a draft. AI-written text is highlighted in the editor, and nothing becomes part of the record until you review and sign it.
Yes. Psychiatry practices can draft in SOAP, DAP, BIRP or narrative format, and SpecScribe remembers your preferred format and section order.
Solo Scribe is $99 per provider per month with 50 encounters included, then $2 per extra encounter. Clinical Command Center is $149 per provider per month with unlimited encounters. Every plan starts with a 30-day free trial, and no credit card is needed to start.
Keep reading
Related pages
The psychiatry templates are drafts pending review by practising psychiatrists. SpecScribe drafts documentation for clinician review and signature; it is not a diagnostic or treatment tool. The sample note on this page uses a fictional patient.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-20
DSM-5-TR is a trademark of the American Psychiatric Association. Epic is a trademark of Epic Systems Corporation. SpecScribe is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
See a psychiatry note drafted live
Book a 30-minute demo and we'll walk through a consult and a follow-up with a fictional patient.
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