Autism providers may finally be ready to embrace artificial intelligence for smoother and more efficient business operations.
Several autism therapy insiders said their mindset around AI has changed from the proverbial when-not-if to something more along the lines of how and where.
“Any technology or tech-enabled services that will drive efficiency for the caregivers, allowing them to have more quality one-on-one time with a client, is what will move the needle,” Dan Beuerlein, managing director at Brentwood Capital Advisors, told Autism Business News while attending the 2024 Autism Investor Summit in Los Angeles. “With the level of demand where it is and the level of supply of providers where it is, the only way you even come close to pulling those two lines together is through technology and efficiency.”
Brentwood Capital Advisors is a Nashville, Tennessee-based health care, health tech and business services investment bank.
The exact placement of AI in the autism therapy industry includes several of the typical health care use cases: automation of complex or mundane repeatable tasks like claims management or data analytics-based work. It may also include autism therapy-specific functions such as frontline-care data collection and more accurately detecting and identifying condition phenotypes.
The experiment, pilots and some implementations are already underway in the industry. While it’s difficult to assess the totality of adoption, it’s not hard to find organizations that are or are making plans to get AI into their tech stack.
“One of the things I’ve heard that I love is that everyone is afraid that AI is going to take over their job,” Dan Cross, CFO of Chatsworth, California-based autism therapy provider 360 Behavioral Health, told ABN. “No, someone who uses AI is going to take over your job.”
360 Behavioral Health operates 21 locations in California and is working on two locations in Nebraska.
Where AI won’t show up
Artificial intelligence has no small place in the minds of those exposed to science fiction and general tech skeptics as a potential apocalypse-bringer. But many are doubtful that AI will substantively replace human clinicians. Doing so would be counterproductive to the ABA-dominated autism therapy industry. That intervention requires interactions with others, if for no other reason to practice or reinforce skills.
“There’s always speculation around whether AI replaces therapists: it’s not a part of our roadmap at all,” Neil Hattangadi, CEO of San Diego-based Cortica, told ABN.
That doesn’t mean Hattangadi and other insiders believe that clinicians won’t be impacted by AI. The odds are that they will do so in a way that will either make them more productive or alleviate the grind of mundane tasks, based on a loose consensus of those interviewed for this article.
“I think Microsoft did the best positioning on artificial intelligence with its Copilot perspective,” Mordechai Meisels, CEO and founder of human services provider Chorus Software Solutions and founder and chief clinical officer of Encore Support Services, told ABN.
Autism providers may finally be able to use artificial intelligence for making business operations smoother and more efficient. There is no shortage of investment in AI-powered chatbots for companionship, low-level mental wellness tips or support for between therapy sessions.
So far, the outpatient mental health industry has shown more progress in AI adoption and shows areas where it may be relevant for the autism therapy industry. Leaders in that space and the addiction treatment space say they are eager to find operational efficiencies and improve employee and patient experiences with AI in business function. In terms of replacing clinicians, “we’re taking that off the table,” one told Behavioral Health Business.
Where AI in autism therapy makes sense
The gist of much of the autism therapy industry falls into two buckets: small or new organizations trying to make the most of what they have and larger or incumbent organizations seeking to mitigate increasing operational complexity.
James Stubbs, CEO and founder of Draper, Utah-based Kuska Autism Services, told ABN he sees AI helping growing autism therapy companies in the “constant battle” of matching up the needs of new patients and prospective patients on waitlists with the recruiting pipeline.
“To be able to project the demand for each of those forces and match them with fidelity into the future — that is one of the first areas that can be addressed,” Stubbs said. “I have to meet every Monday for hours with my clinical director, scheduler and recruiter to have this exact conversation.
“I already know in the back of my mind that AI can do probably 90% of what we’re talking about.”
In this use case alone, companies could more efficiently get patients into care, reduce an administrative burden and grow the census of a clinic with insight for future growth, a vital need for Stubbs and Kuska Autism Services. The company launched in the summer of 2021, opened its center in Draper in 2022, and is opening a second center in Bountiful in May 2024.
Other back-end functions highlighted by company insiders include scheduling/rescheduling with greater ease, tech support for telehealth sessions and clinical decision-making aids.
“It starts with the low-hanging fruit,” Jeff Beck, CEO and co-founder of the virtual applied behavior analysis (ABA) provider AnswersNow, told ABN. “I would love to get to the point where the majority of our clinicians’ time is helping a kiddo, not crossing t’s or dotting i’s.”
AnswersNow is based in Richmond, Virginia, and has about 70 employees.
Automated notes and reports, as well as AI-generated treatment plans, will soon come down the pike, Beck said. AI tools show increasing proficiency in recording audio and converting it into reports. Other simple digital tools, like tablets and phones, could use AI-powered apps to deploy ever-easy-to-use data collection tools.
As clinicians, by nature of industry demands, continue to collect data, heretofore unrealized insights about clinical care and operations could be revealed.
“Down the road, it can give insights into care. I think that is the way of the future for this and other industries,” Brett Blevins, CEO and founder of Commonwealth Autism Care, told ABN.
Blevins mentioned the use of AI in the dining industry to unveil new or more speedy insights into any number of factors.
“It’s here; it’s not fully developed, obviously,” Blevins said. “We’re just scratching the surface on what it’s going to be.”