10:00 AM ET
Discovery Call
ABA + AI Workflow Mapping

Tony Alberding / All Better Together Prep

Use this as a second-screen guide. The goal is to build trust, understand the business deeply, and leave with one clear next step, not to pitch every AI idea at once.

Meeting: Tucker and Tony Connect, 10:00-10:45 AM ET

Meet: meet.google.com/ifk-fjqh-zoj

Tony: Founder / owner / executive director, M.A., BCBA

Company: ABA therapy in Walnut Creek / East Bay and Fort Wayne / Northeast Indiana

North Star

Listen first. Tony already asked for workflow insight. Your edge is not "Claude tips." It is mapping his real operation, spotting leverage, then showing where AI/product work fits.

"I want to understand how your operation actually runs before recommending tools. The best AI work starts with the workflow, not the model."

Rapport

  • Respect the founder/operator story: 20+ years in ABA, BCBA since 2010, founder since 2015.
  • He moved back to Indiana to bring high-quality care to Fort Wayne / NE Indiana.
  • He seems deeply non-corporate: quality care, staff support, reasonable caseloads, real-world results.
  • Personal icebreaker if natural: he and Eileen like motorcycle camping, lakes, rivers, fishing.

Do Not Overdo

  • Do not lead with "AI can replace this." Lead with operational support.
  • Do not pretend to know ABA clinically. Ask and learn.
  • Do not show Brandon work as "copy this." Use it as proof of method.
  • Do not price or scope before understanding stack, data, compliance, and urgency.

45-Minute Agenda

  1. 0-5 min — Frame: "I'd love to learn how the business runs, where the friction is, and whether AI/workflow mapping or product engineering could create real leverage."
  2. 5-15 min — Tony's story: current business, Indiana expansion, what prompted him to explore AI now.
  3. 15-28 min — Map the client journey: intake, insurance, assessment authorization, treatment plan, scheduling, sessions, supervision, parent communication, billing, reporting.
  4. 28-35 min — Tools and data: EHR/practice management, scheduling, billing, CRM, spreadsheets, docs, email, calendar, telehealth.
  5. 35-41 min — Expansion/product idea: internal ops, new service line, software product, or growth infrastructure.
  6. 41-45 min — Next step: propose a workflow map + ranked roadmap, then pick one pilot.

Best Questions

  • What has been hardest about recreating the East Bay model in Fort Wayne?
  • Where do cases get stuck between inquiry and treatment start?
  • What part of the operation only works because one person knows how to do it?
  • What do you still manage in spreadsheets, email, or memory?
  • Where do BCBAs lose time to admin work below their license level?
  • How do you track authorizations, units/hours remaining, renewals, and payer-specific rules?
  • What are your top denial or documentation cleanup reasons?
  • What does parent communication look like between sessions?
  • What software do you use because you have to, and what do you actually like?
  • If we solved one thing in 30-60 days, what would make this obviously worth it?

Tech Stack To Learn

  • EHR / practice management: CentralReach, Rethink, Catalyst, AlohaABA, Motivity, TherapyNotes, Theralytics, spreadsheets, other?
  • Scheduling and cancellation process.
  • Billing / clearinghouse / revenue cycle workflow.
  • Intake forms, e-signatures, document upload, referral sources.
  • Google Workspace, Drive structure, shared inboxes, calendar use.
  • Telehealth and parent communication channels.
  • Where data exports or APIs exist.
  • HIPAA/BAA vendor requirements and who approves tools.

Likely Opportunity Areas

1. Authorization + Utilization Tracker

Track authorizations, remaining units/hours, renewals, reassessment dates, payer rules, and schedule risk.

2. Documentation QA Before Billing

Flag missing signatures, vague notes, CPT mismatches, time mismatches, goal linkage gaps, and payer-specific requirements.

3. Intake / Referral Pipeline

Structured parent/referrer intake, insurance uploads, eligibility checklist, missing-doc nudges, waitlist view.

4. Scheduling + Cancellation Recovery

Match client, RBT, BCBA, location, availability, authorized hours, and make-up sessions.

5. Staff / SOP Assistant

Onboarding, policies, payer quirks, documentation examples, supervision checklists, internal Q&A.

6. Expansion Ops Dashboard

Intake, waitlist, staffing capacity, auth risk, cancellations, revenue leakage, and leadership visibility.

Claude Tips To Give Him, But Only After Discovery

These are good if he asks, "What should I do with Claude right away?" Keep them as 5-minute education, not the whole meeting.

  1. Make Claude interview you first. "Before you answer, ask me 3-5 questions that would help you produce a better result."
  2. Have Claude write the prompt. "I want to build a prompt for this job. Include role, inputs, output format, what to flag, and verification reminders. Then ask me what is missing before I paste it into a Project."
  3. Save reusable prompts as skills/projects. Intake assistant, payer rules assistant, documentation QA assistant, weekly ops dashboard.
  4. Connectors turn chat into an operating layer. Gmail, Calendar, Drive first; EHR exports/API later; never put PHI into tools without a BAA and controls.
  5. Let Claude be the AI consultant. Have it interview Tony about his day, then produce ranked opportunities by time saved, risk, and setup effort.
"The habit I like teaching first is not a fancy prompt. It is asking Claude to interview you before it answers. The loop is: interview first, save the winning prompts as skills, let Claude write the next version, then wire it to real data."

How To Use The Brandon Examples

Do not give Tony the full Brandon links unless it feels relevant. Use them as proof of your approach.

"The best results I've had come from building around someone's actual week, not giving them an AI feature tour."

Your Ask / Close

Mostly listen today. Your ask should be permission to do a structured follow-up, not a big close.

"This is exactly the kind of thing I like mapping. If it's helpful, I can turn what I learned into a lightweight workflow map and ranked AI/product roadmap: quick wins, larger automation opportunities, build-vs-buy recommendations, and data/compliance constraints. Then we can pick one pilot."

If he wants paid scope

"I usually invest a real discovery window up front. After that, I like to move into a small paid pilot so I can treat it like a real project and build something useful end to end."

Risks To Surface

  • HIPAA / PHI: no consumer tools with PHI unless vendor/data rules are clear.
  • Clinical judgment: AI drafts and checks, clinicians decide.
  • False claims / payer risk: AI must not invent documentation.
  • Payer-specific rules: Medicaid, commercial plans, TRICARE, state differences.
  • Audit trail: who created, edited, reviewed, and signed.
  • Build-vs-buy: custom build only if existing systems cannot handle the workflow.

What To Ask Him To Send After