The problem
New-client assessments and care plan reviews are written up from handwritten notes, often in the evening. An agency taking on 8 new clients a month, at 2 hours of write-up each, and reviewing 16 care plans at an hour each, spends 32 hours a month typing before anyone has delivered a visit.
What the AI does
Birdie's SmartPlans records the assessment conversation in the Birdie app, transcribes it and matches what was said to the care plan questions. Each suggested answer links back to the part of the conversation it came from, and Birdie's page says staff check and confirm every one before it is saved. High-risk clinical questions are never suggested; the assessor writes those. The recording and transcript stay in the client's record in Birdie's Agency Hub, and Birdie says the data is not used to train AI models. The care plan remains the registered manager's responsibility under CQC regulations.
A worked example
A home care agency in Leicester already on Birdie takes on about 8 new clients a month and reviews 16 care plans. Its care coordinator records each assessment and review with the client's agreement, then checks the suggested answers in Birdie.
Before
8 new care plans at 120 minutes and 16 reviews at 60 minutes: 1,920 minutes, 32 hours a month
After
8 new plans at 45 minutes and 16 reviews at 20 minutes of checking: 680 minutes, about 11.3 hours a month
What it's worth
About 20 hours a month saved (1,240 minutes), worth about $545£410€488A$787C$771 if the coordinator's time is worth $27£20€24A$38C$38 an hour. SmartPlans costs about $112£84€100A$161C$158 a month here: 8 assessments at 1.5 hours plus 16 reviews at 45 minutes is 24 recording hours at $4.66£3.50€4.17A$6.72C$6.58. That is on top of Birdie itself, which starts from $266£200€238A$384C$376 a month, so an agency not yet on Birdie pays about $378£284€338A$545C$534.
How to set it up
- Confirm with Birdie which plan you are on and that SmartPlans is available to you; it is priced per recording hour on top of the plan.
- Explain to each client, or the person with legal authority to act for them, that the conversation will be recorded and stored in their care record, and note their agreement before pressing record.
- Run the assessment as normal, then open the suggested answers and check each one against what was said, using the links back to the transcript.
- Write the high-risk clinical sections yourself; SmartPlans does not suggest them.
- Have the registered manager sign off every new care plan before the first visit, as now.
- After a month, compare how long write-ups take and how many suggestions you corrected.
What goes wrong
- A suggestion can mishear or miss a detail, such as a medication time or a mobility aid. The signed care plan is your record for CQC, so check it properly rather than accepting answers in bulk.
- Birdie's own price depends on your care hours and isn't published beyond 'from $266£200€238A$384C$376 a month', so get the full quote before relying on the figures here.
- Pay-as-you-go hours add up with long or repeated recordings. Over about 20 hours a month, ask about the monthly commitment from $3.66£2.75€3.27A$5.28C$5.17 an hour.
- Recording without clear agreement, or in front of visitors who haven't agreed, is a UK GDPR problem. Health details are special category data, so keep them in Birdie and nowhere else.