1

Overview

Removing System Barriers to Access and Retention in

Opioid Treatment Programs

Kim Johnson, MBANIATx Deputy Director

2

Who Is NIATx?

• Research Center in Engineering Department at University of Wisconsin

• Focus on Process Improvement in addiction treatment agencies

• Four Aims

• Five Principles

3

What Do You Mean by Process Improvement?

• Customers are served by processes

• 85% of customer related problems are caused by problems with processes

• In order to improve customer service, we must improve our processes

4

Four Aims

• Reduce wait times

• Reduce No shows

• Improve continuation

• Increase number of admissions

5

Five Principles

• Understand the customer

• Fix key problems

• Choose a strong change leader

• Get ideas from outside the organization

• Use rapid cycle testing

6

Understand the Customer

• Most important of all principles

• Need to understand the customer experience of services as well as customer need

• Use walk through, focus groups, surveys

7

How to do a Walk Through

• Choose a process to walk through

(phone screening, intake/assessment, dosing, counseling etc.)

8

How to do a Walk Through

Make up a story for yourself and have a family member involved in the process to help record and observe the process

(I am a 25 year old prescription drug addicted mother of two children driven to treatment by the child welfare system…..)

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How to do a Walk Through

“Walk through” the process you have chosen as the client you have chosen and record the experience.

What did you feel?

What made sense?

What didn’t?

10

How to do a Walk Through

You can step out of role and ask staff why they are doing something a particular way.

You are looking for process issues, not trying tocatch staff making mistakes.

Go with open eyes. If you had never been through this process before would the language make sense, do the steps make sense, would you actually use your services?

11

Project

Applications are due June 12

Applications require a walk through

We are going to accept as many as we can based on travel costs and coach time

12 Reduce Waiting & No-Shows Increase Admissions & Continuation www.NIATx.net

Questions?