January 1, Canadian Therapists Drowning in Useless Software

Wyatt’s Take

• Therapists in Canada spend hundreds of hours each year wrestling with software meant to help them.
• Promised efficiency often turns into more hassle, eating up personal and work time.
• No-frills, working-class values are missing from today’s overcomplicated tech tools.

Every week, therapists in Canada struggle to keep up, spending hours after their last session managing insurance claims, billing, and unpaid invoices instead of helping patients or unwinding with family.

On average, clinic workers pour over 13 hours a week into placing notes and paperwork, almost always outside business hours. Other admin headaches pile up thanks to complicated software—which was supposed to make life easier.

“Therapists tell us they switched to digital tools to save time, then discovered they were spending evenings troubleshooting instead of resting,” said Victoria Scott of WriteUpp.

Most clinics are small, with little to no admin support. Therapists end up serving as their own IT, office manager, and billing clerk when the tech fails or is confusing.

Practices juggle multiple platforms—for scheduling, telehealth, notes, or billing—and spend precious time updating the same info in different places. Poorly designed software and too many features can make things even worse.

The biggest time sink is always documentation, thanks to tight legal and insurance rules. When the system is clunky, therapists either lose more time at home or risk mistakes for going too fast—neither is acceptable.

Switching to better software sounds easy, but fear of losing patient data or appointment schedules makes many workers stick with what they’ve got. Even if a new program is cheaper, wasted time adds hidden costs.

The right tool would let them get back to what matters: more patient care and less messing around with broken software.

Wyatt Matters

Out here, working folks know that when tools become a burden instead of a help, something’s gone sideways. It’s common sense—keep things simple and reliable so the job can get done, and people can get home to their families.

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