Blå Kors is building a new way of delivering addiction treatment

The Challenge

Blå Kors is one of Norway's leading specialist clinics in substance abuse and addiction care (TSB). Before their path crossed with Braive, the clinic faced pressure for change from several directions at once.

For the organization, it was about reducing administrative burden and working more data-driven to strengthen quality of care. For clinicians, it was about freeing up time from admin to patient work and raising the quality of documentation and treatment. For patients, it was about increasing their involvement and ensuring more individualized, accurate treatment.

When note-writing dominated the workday

Before Braive Note was introduced, documentation was one of the heaviest parts of clinicians' daily work. Note-writing was demanding work that required concentration, took time, and left little room for anything else. Perka Mekiassen, Recovery Counselor at Blå Kors Lade, describes the experience:

"I used to sit for a long time with my notes before I dared hit 'sign.' It took time and capacity. A workday marked by resistance."
— Perka Mekiassen, Recovery Counselor, Blå Kors Lade

AI tools that actually work in clinical practice

The starting point for the collaboration between Blå Kors Lade and Braive was Braive Note, an AI-driven documentation module that listens to clinical conversations and generates structured note summaries with diagnostic suggestions, adapted to Blå Kors's own note templates. Beyond that, Blå Kors uses a customized version of symptom mapping, diagnostic support, and triage with Mental Health Check, and a customized program, "Intoxication and the Path Forward – From Insight to Change".

How it works

Implementation moved quickly. Clinicians got to test the tools early, and Braive listened closely to their feedback — something Åse Prestvik, Head of Professional Practice at Blå Kors Lade, highlights as key to the success:

"The collaboration has led to a fantastic impact on our operations in a short time. One key to the success is the working method established, with broad staff involvement and close, responsive contact with Braive, followed by rapid development."
— Åse Prestvik, Head of Professional Practice, Blå Kors Lade

In practice, Braive Note means the clinician conducts their session as usual. Once the session ends, a structured summary is ready for review, often needing only minimal adjustments before signing. What used to take 10–15 minutes per note now takes 2–3 minutes. Ingebjørg Elfrida Flatås, Clinician, describes the difference:

"It's almost like I just check off the notes now. Less mental capacity spent producing text, more energy left for patients."
— Ingebjørg Elfrida Flatås, Clinician, Blå Kors Lade

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But the collaboration extends further than documentation. Blå Kors Lade and Braive are jointly developing a digital treatment program for substance abuse and addiction, anchored in the clinic's existing treatment model and built around the patient's active participation in their own treatment.

The goal is to reach more patients — including after discharge or for those living far from an outpatient clinic — and to gather systematic outcome data to document the effect of treatment over time.

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