About Eslöv Municipality

Eslöv Municipality is a local authority of around 34,000 residents in central Skåne. Its health and social care operations span needs assessment, community health nursing, and social services, from elder care investigations to work with families and individuals who need support.

Documentation is central to that work. Caseworkers, nurses, and social workers write notes for every meeting, every visit, every decision. It's necessary. It's also time-consuming.

Eslöv knew this. When documentation started taking several hours a day for caseworkers, the question was no longer whether something needed to change. It was how.

The problem: documentation took time and attention away from the people the service exists for

In authority-based casework, a single investigation can run to many pages. Caseworkers need to listen, respond, assess, and write, often at the same time. In community health nursing, nurses documented interventions mid-visit. Social workers tried to take notes while staying present in difficult conversations.

The cognitive load was significant. And the time spent on documentation after meetings, in the evenings, and between visits added up quickly.

One caseworker in individual and family services described it this way:

"You don't have to juggle several things at once when you're trying to be present in the meeting, word things correctly, and document at the same time. Instead, you can focus on what matters most."

Demands were also growing. New social services legislation, higher requirements for legal certainty, and increasing caseloads meant documentation quality mattered more than ever, even when the time available for it stayed the same.

The solution: Eslöv introduced Tandem across three service areas

In December 2025, Eslöv began working with Tandem Health and Tieto to pilot AI-supported documentation in needs assessment for health and social care, and in community health nursing. In March 2026 the pilot expanded to individual and family services.

A total of 22 staff took part across the three service areas.

Tandem listens during conversations and generates a draft based on templates tailored to each service area and professional role. The clinician reviews, edits, and approves the draft before it transfers to Lifecare, Eslöv's medical record system. Nothing enters the record without the clinician's approval. The AI generates a suggestion. The clinician decides what's final.

The integration with Lifecare was central to how the pilot was designed. Staff could conduct a meeting, review a draft, and have a signed note in the system without copying or switching between tools. By the end of the pilot, 71 per cent of all notes were transferred directly to Lifecare via the integration.

Templates were developed for eleven documentation types across the three service areas, from IBIC assessments and discharge team investigations to journal notes, care plans, and investigations into domestic violence. They were adjusted continuously based on feedback during the first few weeks.

The results: time saved, less stress, and greater presence in the meeting

The number that summarises the pilot is 59 per cent. That's the average reduction in documentation time reported by staff across all service areas. The time savings appeared within six to eight weeks of the first training session. No complicated setup. Just a tool that quickly started giving time back.

In authority-based casework the numbers are even clearer. Each case took an average of 88 minutes less with Tandem. With two cases per day, that's roughly three hours saved per caseworker each day, or between 500 and 1,000 hours per person per year.

In community health nursing, results varied more. Rehabilitation staff, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists halved their documentation time. Nurses with longer notes saw clear gains. For staff with short, routine notes, the time saving was more limited.

But time wasn't the only thing staff noticed.

Greater presence in the meeting

80 per cent of participants said they could focus better on the meeting with the service user or client. In individual and family services, that figure was 100 per cent. Staff described being able to make eye contact, ask follow-up questions, and actually listen, rather than taking notes.

"I feel that the person I'm talking to dares to share more than before, since I don't have to write notes at the same time, which can act as a distraction."

— Caseworker, individual and family services

One occupational therapist described how she used the time freed up:

"I feel I have more time to put into my treatment interventions, to seek out and explore alternatives I want to offer my patients. Less time goes on thinking about how to word things and writing notes."

— Occupational therapist, community health nursing

Better documentation quality

90 per cent of participants trusted Tandem to capture the conversation well. The same proportion said the language and terminology matched professional standards. Staff particularly valued it in complex cases, interpreter-assisted consultations, and home visits, situations where it's especially important to capture details accurately.

The consistent structure also made case handovers easier. When all notes follow the same format, it takes less time to get up to speed on a colleague's cases.

"If everyone had used a tool like this, we'd all be writing similar notes, making them easier to read and understand when you need to take over a case or step in."

— Occupational therapist, community health nursing

Less stress day to day

80 per cent experienced less stress. Some of the relief came from the time saved, but also from the reassurance that nothing important had been missed. Staff described no longer worrying about having overlooked details or forgotten how to phrase something. That matters when caseloads are high. It matters when a note goes into a permanent record. And it matters when professional responsibility rests with you, not with the AI.

"I don't have to worry about having missed something in the notes."

— Caseworker, individual and family services

What made the implementation work

Eslöv followed a structured five-step rollout model: preparation with identification of users and templates, an initial training session for all staff, two weeks of daily use, a follow-up training session with refinement, and then continued daily use with support as needed.

The template work was critical. Each service area had its own documentation standards, terminology, and formats. Getting them right, and keeping them updated based on feedback, took time and commitment during the first few weeks. Service areas that made time early on for template feedback saw faster improvements.

Practical adaptations were also needed. In community health nursing, small clip-on microphones proved important for staff who document while moving. In situations where live recording wasn't appropriate, staff chose instead to summarise the conversation for Tandem afterwards, still getting an automatic draft in return.

Lessons for a wider rollout

AI drafts always require human review. Tandem generates notes based on what was said during the conversation. The tool has no context from earlier in the case and can miss nuances or place information under the wrong heading. Staff must review every draft before approving it.

The benefit varies by role. Staff with short, standardised notes saved less time than those with longer, more complex investigations. Targeting rollout to the right groups matters.

Language and templates take time to refine. Each professional group has its established phrasing. Several staff described regularly adjusting wording to make the text feel like their own. Factoring in that adjustment period is part of a successful implementation.

Training is about more than learning the tool. Some staff were less confident with technology. Others felt resistance to change. Helping people over that threshold takes patience and direct support, not just instructions.

What staff want next

90 per cent of participants saw more potential in the tool. The most common requests: the ability to add personal templates, customise language, and choose the level of detail depending on case type.

One caseworker in individual and family services put it this way:

"I'd like a function where I put in my own notes and get Tandem to use and mirror my style and the information I usually include."

— Caseworker, individual and family services

A foundation for what comes next

Eslöv's pilot shows that AI-supported documentation works in social services and community health care, not just in clinical settings. The results are clear. So are the conditions for success: well-considered templates, proper training, ongoing adaptation, and an integration that fits the existing system.

What the pilot demonstrated, above all, is that when documentation no longer takes all the attention, staff have more room for the part of the job that can't be automated: being present with the people who need them.

And it improves over time. The more Tandem is used, the more the drafts reflect how staff actually write.

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Pilot conducted December 2025 to April 2026. Evaluation based on survey data from 20 of 22 participants, usage statistics from the AI assistant, and qualitative interviews.
Partners: Eslöv Municipality, Tieto, Tandem Health.