KIRA AI aims to change that with a digital documentation assistant that automates large parts of the documentation process.
In the social and healthcare sector, documentation is an essential part of daily work, but the task can be both time-consuming and administratively burdensome. At the same time, it can also create distance between staff and citizens, as documentation is often completed without involving the people it concerns.
This was exactly the challenge that psychologist Jon Ring Vilshammer encountered during more than 20 years of working in the health and social care sector.
In my daily work, I constantly heard about the heavy administrative burden facing the health and social care sector. Employees were often stuck behind computer screens, spending valuable time on administrative tasks they would rather avoid, while citizens were left waiting in the corridor,” says Jon Ring Vilshammer, co-founder of KIRA AI.
To address this challenge, KIRA AI developed an app that records conversations between citizens and staff and automatically generates summaries that can be used directly as documentation. The content is then categorised according to statutory standards, enabling seamless integration with existing documentation systems.
The goal is not only to save time, but also to make documentation more transparent and inclusive, ensuring that citizens' voices become a central part of the records.
"The app generates automatic summaries and structures data based on the conversation. This removes a large share of the administrative writing burden afterward, because the documentation is completed in real time and often together with the citizens themselves," explains Kira Kruse Willmarst, co-founder of KIRA AI. She is a social and healthcare assistant with 30 years of experience in the social care and disability sector, including responsibility for quality assurance of documentation within municipal services.
A key element of the solution is what the company calls dialogical documentation. Through dialogical documentation, records are created together with citizens, giving them a direct influence on what is written in their files.
KIRA AI has been tested in residential care facilities and municipalities, where the solution has demonstrated significant potential for reducing the time employees spend on documentation.
"We review the summary together, and the citizens help decide what should be included in their own records. This removes the feeling of being monitored, ensures the documentation is accurate, and creates a much greater sense of security throughout the process. Some citizens have even started referring to Kira as their spokesperson," says Amalie Hem Skånstrøm, a social educator at Johanne Hages Hus residential care facility in Nivå, where the solution is used in everyday practice.
Some employees report that documentation tasks that previously took around an hour can now be completed in approximately ten minutes. This frees up valuable time for relationships, care, and meaningful human interaction.
Video: KIRA AI
KIRA AI has received funding from the Lighthouse Life Science project through Danish Life Science Cluster, and this support has played a major role in the company’s growth and access to the social care sector.
Through mentoring, networking opportunities, and financial assistance, the company has gained access to key stakeholders across the sector.
"We started KIRA AI almost from scratch through Lighthouse Life Science. Their support and funding have been absolutely crucial because they have enabled us to prioritise close collaboration across sectors," says Jon Ring Vilshammer.
The collaboration has, among other things, enabled the company to test and further develop the solution in close dialogue with municipalities, residential care providers, and other stakeholders in the sector.
"But our greatest success is that citizens at the residential facilities involved in the pilot projects are now actively requesting to participate in the documentation process themselves," says Jon Ring Vilshammer.
The company is also seeing growing interest from other parts of the care sector, including elderly care, where documentation continues to be a major administrative burden. The 2024 Danish Elderly Care Reform places greater emphasis on collaboration between staff and citizens, including their active involvement in the documentation process. By reducing administrative workloads and increasing citizen participation, KIRA AI aims to strengthen well-being, trust, and quality in the relationship between staff and those they support.
"Citizens expect person-centred welfare services tailored to individual needs, and with this app both mental well-being and quality of life improve significantly for citizens and employees alike. Lighthouse Life Science has been with us from the very beginning, providing both a strong seal of quality and valuable market connections. We share the same goal: reducing health inequality," says Jon Ring Vilshammer.
"Citizens expect person-centred welfare services tailored to individual needs, and with this app both mental well-being and quality of life improve significantly for citizens and employees alike. Lighthouse Life Science has been with us from the very beginning, providing both a strong seal of quality and valuable market connections. We share the same goal: reducing health inequality,"
says Jon Ring Vilshammer, co-founder of KIRA AI
Lighthouse Life Science is co-funded by the European Union.