The short version: Kana Health and Adentris both bring AI to behavioral health, but they solve different problems. Kana is a clinical intelligence layer that automates intake, triage, care planning, and note-taking and surfaces between-session risk signals like PHQ-9 and GAD-7 trends. Adentris is a revenue integrity and documentation compliance layer that reviews the note, however it was written, in real time before the claim is submitted, with SUD-specific rules like ASAM level of care and 42 CFR Part 2 and an appeals and denials module built in. If your problem is clinical workflow and insight, Kana is built for that. If your problem is denials and audit exposure, that is where Adentris focuses.
They aim at different jobs, so the comparison is about which problem is actually costing you right now. Here is the honest breakdown.
What Adentris does
Adentris is an AI platform for revenue integrity and documentation compliance built specifically for behavioral health and SUD programs. It works on top of the EHR you already run, connecting through an API or HL7 where one exists (for example Alleva, Pimsy, Kipu, Epic, or Athenahealth) and through a secure web agent where it does not, so there is no migration. It reviews notes in real time and flags the elements that get behavioral health claims denied before the claim is submitted: medical necessity, ASAM level-of-care justification, treatment plan updates, group therapy attendance, service units, signature timing, and 42 CFR Part 2 consent. When something is missing, it drafts the correction for the clinician to accept, and it pairs documentation review with an appeals and denials module. Adentris is HIPAA compliant and SOC 2 certified, with 42 CFR Part 2 controls and BAAs in place.
What Kana Health does
Kana Health positions itself as more than an AI note-taker: a clinical intelligence layer for behavioral health organizations that reads from the EHR, scheduling, and billing systems to automate intake, triage, care planning, and documentation, and to surface insight between sessions, including PHQ-9 and GAD-7 trajectories and early risk signals, with leadership and supervisor dashboards. For organizations that want clinical decision support and engagement insight alongside note automation, Kana is a capable, modular option.
Adentris vs Kana Health at a glance
| Adentris | Kana Health | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | BH and SUD programs focused on denials and compliance | BH organizations focused on clinical workflow and insight |
| Primary job | Catch and fix denial-driving gaps before the claim is submitted | Automate intake, care planning, notes, and risk insight |
| Review timing | Real time, before the claim is submitted | Continuous, across the care episode |
| Is it a scribe? | No, it reviews the note, however it was written | In part, note-taking is one module among several |
| SUD depth | ASAM level of care and 42 CFR Part 2 built in | Behavioral health focus |
| EHR fit | Any EHR via API, HL7, or a secure web agent (no migration) | Reads from EHR, scheduling, and billing |
| Compliance focus | Payer claim denials and revenue integrity | Clinical insight, not payer compliance |
| Denials | Paired appeals and denials module | Clinical intelligence focus, not a claims module |
Capabilities change quickly in this market, so confirm current details with each vendor before you decide.
Which should you choose?
Kana is built around clinical intelligence and workflow across the care episode: intake, triage, care planning, notes, and between-session risk signals. Adentris is built around the revenue-integrity slice: catching the documentation gaps that get behavioral health and SUD claims denied and fixing them before submission. It flags a missing medical necessity statement, an unjustified ASAM level of care, or a missing 42 CFR Part 2 consent, and drafts the correction while the note is open, then supports the appeal. For SUD programs, ASAM and Part 2 depth, real-time pre-submission timing, and running on any EHR through a secure web agent are the practical differences. The two can coexist: Kana for clinical insight, Adentris to make sure the work gets paid.
- Choose Kana Health if you want a clinical intelligence layer that automates intake, triage, care planning, and notes and surfaces between-session risk signals.
- Choose Adentris if you lose behavioral health or SUD claims to documentation gaps and want them flagged and fixed in the moment, with SUD-specific rules and denials support in one place, without migrating EHRs.
Adentris as a Kana Health alternative for revenue integrity
If your program uses Kana Health, or is evaluating it, and the gap you feel is not clinical workflow but denied claims and audit exposure, that is a different job. Adentris focuses on the payer side: it checks whether the documentation supports the claim, flags the behavioral health and SUD elements that drive denials, drafts the correction before submission, and pairs that with an appeals and denials workflow. It runs on any EHR through an API, HL7, or a secure web agent, so it fits alongside a clinical intelligence layer rather than replacing it. For programs with strong clinical workflows that still lose claims, it is a natural complement.
How Adentris helps
For behavioral health and SUD organizations, the biggest revenue leak is documentation, and it is specific: medical necessity that was never shown, missing ASAM justification, a Part 2 consent that was not captured. Adentris reviews every chart in real time inside your existing EHR and flags exactly those gaps before the claim is filed, then drafts the fix, and it pairs that with an appeals and denials module so compliance and revenue integrity live in one place. In practice that means fewer denied claims, less audit exposure, and far less time spent reworking documentation after a payer pushes back. Adentris is HIPAA compliant and SOC 2 certified, with 42 CFR Part 2 controls and BAAs in place. To see it on your own charts, book a 30-minute call with our team.
The bottom line
Kana Health is a capable clinical intelligence layer. Adentris solves a different problem, revenue integrity: it catches and corrects the documentation gaps that get behavioral health and SUD claims denied, before submission, on any EHR.
Related reading
- AI chart review tools for behavioral health
- Best behavioral health documentation compliance software
- Documentation software for clinicians
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Adentris and Kana Health?
Kana Health is a clinical intelligence layer for behavioral health that automates intake, triage, care planning, and notes and surfaces between-session risk signals like PHQ-9 and GAD-7 trends. Adentris is a revenue integrity and documentation compliance layer that reviews the note in real time before the claim is submitted, drafts corrections, and has SUD-specific rules like ASAM and 42 CFR Part 2 and an appeals module built in. Kana supports the clinical work; Adentris makes sure it gets paid.
Can Adentris and Kana Health be used together?
Yes. They solve different halves of the problem, so a program can use Kana Health to run intake, care planning, and notes and Adentris to verify the documentation supports the claim and to handle appeals. Adentris reviews the note however it was written, so it fits alongside Kana Health.
Is Adentris a good alternative to Kana Health?
For programs whose problem is denials and audit exposure rather than clinical workflow and insight, yes. Adentris focuses on catching and correcting the behavioral health and SUD gaps that drive denials before submission, with ASAM and 42 CFR Part 2 built in and an appeals and denials module, and it runs on any EHR without a migration.
Which is better for a substance use disorder program?
For SUD, the claims that get denied usually turn on ASAM level of care, medical necessity, and 42 CFR Part 2, which Adentris is built around with real-time, pre-submission review and drafted corrections. Kana Health is strong for clinical intelligence, care planning, and between-session risk insight. Programs that want SUD-specific compliance depth and denials support often lean Adentris.
About the author: Sergey Yudovskiy is the Chief Product Officer of Adentris, which builds AI for revenue integrity and documentation compliance in behavioral health and substance use disorder care.