Plaud for group therapy and IOP sessions: one recorder, a note for every client

Group is where phone-based scribes fall apart. Eight people in a circle, a facilitator who is moving, a phone on a chair somewhere, and a session that runs ninety minutes. The recording is either too far from half the room or dies before the check-out round. Then the facilitator writes eight notes from memory.

A dedicated recorder in the middle of the room fixes the capture. NavixScribe fixes the eight notes. Here is how the two work together for group, IOP, and PHP programming.

Where the recorder goes

Put a Plaud Note Pro flat in the center of the circle, on a table or the floor, not in the facilitator's pocket. The device exists to record a room and it does that job better than a phone that is also trying to be a phone. For a NotePin S, clip it on the facilitator and stay in the circle. Both capture the session on the device itself, so the facilitator can leave a phone in the office entirely.

If the group runs long, the recorder keeps going. If the facilitator steps out to handle a crisis, the recorder keeps going. It syncs to NavixScribe when the session ends and the device is back in range.

How one recording becomes eight notes

This is the part that matters for a program, not just a clinician. NavixScribe treats a group recording as a group session. It identifies the facilitator and the participants, tracks who said what, and writes an individual progress note for each client on the roster, in the format the program uses.

Each note contains only that client's participation and the facilitator's observations about them. A client who spoke twice gets a note that reflects two contributions, not a copy of the group summary with the name changed. That distinction is what an auditor looks for, and it is what "group note" software has historically gotten wrong.

The facilitator reviews each note, edits where needed, and signs. On Navix Hub, the notes land in the charts. On NavixScribe standalone, they are ready to paste into whatever EMR the program runs.

What to tell clients

Group recording needs consent, and it should be explicit. Three things work in practice:

1. Put it in the program agreement at intake. Clients consent to session recording for documentation, with the explanation that recordings are processed by the practice's clinical software and not shared with anyone outside the care team.
2. Say it out loud at the start of each group. Thirty seconds, every time. "We record group for documentation. The recording goes straight to our clinical system, nothing else, and nobody outside your care team hears it."
3. Point at the device. A recorder on the table is visible and honest. A phone face down in someone's lap is neither.

Because the recording goes from the device to NavixScribe and nowhere else, that explanation is true. There is no consumer cloud, no vendor app, no third party for a client to worry about.

IOP and PHP specifics

Programs that run multiple groups a day with rotating facilitators have two extra problems: devices get shared and schedules get tight. Two habits solve both.

• One recorder per room, not per facilitator. Pair each device to NavixScribe once. Whoever runs the 9am group in Room B uses the Room B recorder, and the notes still route to the right facilitator for review because NavixScribe knows who ran the session.
• Sync between groups, not at end of day. A recorder back on its charger for five minutes between sessions is enough for the previous group to sync and the notes to be waiting. The facilitator reviews during the break instead of at 6pm.

What you need

A Plaud Note Pro or NotePin S, NavixScribe on a phone or tablet somewhere in range, and a program agreement that covers recording. Pair once in NavixScribe, tap Connect Plaud, and run the next group. The full setup and the compliance answers are on the Plaud + NavixScribe page.

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• #Group Therapy