Netsmart has been recognized as a 2025 AWS Champions Award winner for its work in revolutionizing behavioral health documentation through the expansion of the Bells solution suite and the development of Bells Virtual Scribe, an AI-powered solution built using AWS HealthScribe and Amazon Bedrock. Designed to alleviate one of the most pressing burdens in community-based care — clinical documentation — this solution delivers faster, more accurate note generation while freeing up providers to focus on what matters most: patient care.

The partnership between Netsmart and AWS showcases the power of co-designed, mission-driven technology built in close collaboration with behavioral health providers, driving measurable improvements in efficiency, revenue, and staff satisfaction.

Project Overview
The Bells Virtual Scribe solution combines ambient intelligence from AWS HealthScribe — which captures and interprets distinct voices during therapy sessions — with Amazon Bedrock, used to power intelligent automation across documentation and billing. The platform not only generates comprehensive clinical notes but also audits them in real time, streamlining the entire documentation-to-billing cycle.

This end-to-end solution is uniquely suited to behavioral health, where providers often spend up to 40% of their time on manual data entry. By automating these time-consuming tasks, Netsmart has helped alleviate administrative burnout and deliver higher-quality documentation with fewer errors.

Challenges Addressed: Rising Pressure in a Strained System
Behavioral health providers face a complex set of challenges:

• Growing demand and limited access: 122 million Americans live in areas with mental health provider shortages.
• Burnout crisis: 93% of behavioral health workers report experiencing burnout.
• Administrative overload: Providers and case managers spend an outsized portion of time on paperwork.
• Funding competition: Agencies must prove outcomes to secure funding and remain competitive.
• Evolving compliance demands: Shifting documentation requirements increase pressure on staff.

Bells Virtual Scribe was created to directly address these pain points, offering not just efficiency, but a better work experience for providers and better outcomes for patients.

Results: Faster Notes, Higher Revenue, and Happier Providers
Since partnering with AWS in 2022 to infuse generative AI into its platform, Netsmart has delivered transformational outcomes to community care providers utilizing Bells Clinical Coach, an AI-powered clinical documentation tool:

• 30% increase in monthly revenue for participating providers
• 68% reduction in session-to-sign time, accelerating billing cycles
• 99.9% reimbursement success rate, thanks to consistent and compliant documentation
• 60% reduction in time spent on documentation, freeing up hours each week
• One additional clinical note per client per month, improving continuity of care

These results highlight not just better documentation, but better business performance and staff engagement across the behavioral health community.

Reimagining Behavioral Health for a New Era
With the Bells solution suite, Netsmart has redefined what’s possible in behavioral health documentation. It delivers real-time automation that supports providers, boosts revenue, and improves care delivery.