Heidi vs. Preve: Which AI Tool Really Works for Physiotherapists?

AI documentation tools are becoming commonplace in healthcare. Heidi has built a reputation as a strong, generalist medical scribe that supports doctors, nurses, and allied health alike.

But Preve is different. It isn’t just a scribe. It uses scribe functionality as a foundation to capture rich patient context - ****and then turns that into a complete experience for both physio and patient.

Here’s how they compare.

1. Specialist Origins & Design

• Heidi is a general-purpose medical scribe, serving GPs, specialists, and allied health providers. It’s flexible, adaptable, and integrates well across disciplines.

• Preve is built by physiotherapists, for physiotherapists. The workflows, templates, and outputs are all grounded in the realities of multi-session rehab, outcome tracking, and patient adherence.

Takeaway*:* Physio care isn’t a one-off prescription - it’s a journey. Preve is built for that journey.

2. Ongoing Session Context

• Heidi focuses on accurate, efficient documentation of individual consults - strong in isolation.

• Preve captures notes via scribe functionality but then remembers your patients and their previous sessions. This continuity means every future plan or checklist is context-rich.

Takeaway: For physios, that longitudinal memory is a game-changer.

3. Templates: Customisable vs. Ready-Made

• Heidi allows you to build your own custom templates. That’s powerful if you want flexibility.

• Preve comes with pre-set templates across physiotherapy specialty areas (MSK, hand therapy, women’s health, respiratory, etc). No setup, no tinkering, just plug-and-play.

Takeaway: Customisation is a great feature in Heidi, whilst Preve shines with it’s immediate physio-specific structures.

4. Post-Session To-Dos vs. Pre-Session Insight

• Heidi generates a post-session to-do list, helping with follow-ups and documentation tasks.

• With Preve, every consult starts with a pre-session checklist. Pulled from previous sessions, it surfaces the key details you need before the patient walks in.

Takeaway: Both are helpful, but for physios managing long-term cases, being prepped before the session makes the bigger difference.

5. Patient Experience: The Real Differentiator

Heidi, while excellent at clinician documentation, doesn’t provide this end-to-end patient experience.

This is where Preve steps beyond “scribe” and into something transformational.

• Preve auto-generates a treatment plan for patients:

  • Plain-language diagnosis and causes

  • Personalised goals

  • Exercise prescriptions with videos and cues

  • Outcome measures

  • Milestones and timelines

  • Appointment schedule

  • Historical summaries

• All of this lives in a patient-facing portal. Patients can check their plan anytime, track their progress, and understand what’s coming next.

Takeaway: Preve isn’t just saving physios time - it’s actively improving adherence, reducing cancellations, and delivering better clinical outcomes.

6. Saving Time vs. Driving Outcomes

• Heidi is excellent at reducing admin burden for a wide range of healthcare professionals.

• Preve reduces admin and drives patient engagement - creating a feedback loop where both clinician and patient get more out of every consult.

Takeaway: If you’re just looking for automated notes and documents, Heidi does a good job of this. If you’re looking for that plus better patient engagement and outcomes, you will prefer Preve.

1. PMS Integration

• Heidi integrates with a wide range of medical practice management systems and EMR’s. In allied health, it integrates with Cliniko, Nookal and Halaxy.

• Preve integrates with Cliniko and Nookal, meaning you can view your appointments and patients, with clinical notes being pushed back into the PMS. This means you can run your whole day from Preve. Preve also pulls historical patient context into the platform, meaning your past notes in Cliniko are considered in future sessions on Preve, creating greater continuity of care.

Takeaway: Both Preve and Heidi integrate with Cliniko and Nookal, with Preve having deeper integration capabilities (like historical context). But if you’re a Halaxy user and just need documentation generated then Heidi might be a better fit.

Final Verdict

Heidi is a powerful, well-designed scribe that works across multiple specialties. It’s an excellent choice if your primary need is faster note-taking across different clinical contexts.

But Preve is not just a scribe. It’s a physiotherapy-specific platform that uses scribing as a foundation to deliver something far greater:

• Rich continuity between sessions

• Profession-specific templates

• Pre-session insights

• Patient-facing treatment plans and portals

For physiotherapists, that means Preve isn’t just saving time — it’s transforming both your workflow and your patients’ experience of rehab.

Quick Comparison Table