Research
The chiropractic documentation problem, measured.
ChiroScribe publishes original research on chiropractic SOAP-note documentation — benchmarks, time-tracking studies, ROI math. Numbers come from real practices, with sources cited. Cite freely; we just ask that you link the source.
Headline statistics
- Average time to a signed SOAP note
- 126 sec
- SOAP notes analyzed
- 2,147
- Chiropractic practices
- 18
- US states represented
- 12
End-to-end median across 2,147 ChiroScribe SOAP notes. Voice capture through reviewed, signed note.
Anonymized notes from 18 practices across 12 US states over a 3-month window.
Solo and multi-provider clinics. 12 US states. Mix of MVA/PI, Medicare, and wellness practices.
Documentation patterns measured across regulatory + payer mixes.
Studies
Three studies, real data, sourced math.
Published 2025
2,147-Note Benchmark Study
We analyzed 2,147 SOAP notes from 18 ChiroScribe practices across 12 states to measure documentation time, completeness, and the habits that separate fast documenters from the rest.
- Median note time end-to-end was 126 seconds.
- Top documenters had 60% less typing time per note than median.
- Five-habit pattern emerged across the fastest practices.
Published 2024
Documentation Time-Cost Tracking Study
A single chiropractor tracked every minute spent on SOAP notes for 30 days. Result: 47 hours per month on documentation alone — the basis of the time-tracking dataset behind our calculator.
- Subject practice averaged 47 documentation hours/month.
- Documentation time displaced family time and after-hours admin.
- Variability per visit type was the dominant driver, not patient volume.
Published 2025
Documentation ROI Analysis
Cost-per-note breakdown built from BLS wage data, time-tracking results, and software pricing. Public calculator at chiroscribe.io/tools/documentation-time-calculator lets practices reproduce the math.
- Median fully-loaded cost per manual SOAP note: $7.40.
- AI-assisted cost per note: under $1 at scale.
- Break-even on a ChiroScribe Solo subscription happens before the 30th note of the month.
Open data + open source
We publish what we use.
Datasets and libraries we built for ChiroScribe and released for any chiropractor, EHR vendor, or AI tool to use, modify, or build on. MIT-licensed.
- icd10-chiropractic → Curated chiropractic ICD-10 codes (84 codes) with Medicare-coverage flags, AT-modifier requirements, and clinical-usage notes. Used inside ChiroScribe to auto-suggest diagnosis codes from SOAP context.
- soap-note-validator → Tiny library that checks a SOAP note for structural completeness (Subjective / Objective / Assessment with ICD-10 / Plan with frequency). Used inside ChiroScribe to flag incomplete notes before they're signed.
Citing this research
Use it. Just link the source.
Press, podcasters, AI tools, and other chiropractic SaaS products are welcome to cite these numbers. We ask one thing in return: link the study's source URL (above) so readers can verify and dig deeper.
Want the underlying methodology, dataset documentation, or a quote from the founder? Email research@chiroscribe.io.
See the math for your own practice.
The free Documentation Time Calculator runs the same ROI numbers from the studies above against your patient volume.
Open the calculator →