Clients spend too much time waiting for and attending multiple appointments before the first treatment session.
Combine multiple intake, assessment, evaluation and admission appointments into a single assessment appointment.
The Center for Drug Free Living in Orlando, Florida reduced the waiting time for treatment from 41 days to 5 days by combining six assessment sessions into a twosession assessment process consisting of a screening group and an individual session. The continuation rate from assessment to the first treatment session increased to 70 percent.
Boston Public Health Commission in Mattapan, Massachusetts reduced the waiting time for assessments from 11 days to 5 days in one month by expanding the phone eligibility screening, eliminating the in-person intake session and delaying the psychosocial assessment until the first treatment session.
Cycle Measure
Number of days until next available assessment appointment and/or the first treatment session
Data Collection Form
Next Available Appointment Tracking Spreadsheet
Plan
Do
Study
Act
Repeat this series of steps until all of your clients are assessed in a single appointment.
Connecticut Renaissance, Inc. in Bridgeport, Connecticut reduced the waiting time between evaluation and intake from 21 days to 6 days in a single week by combining evaluation and intake appointments for clients that clearly met the criteria for admission. Clients were screened immediately for appropriateness.
Island Grove Regional Treatment Center in Greeley, Colorado reduced the waiting time for treatment from 34 days to 9 days by combining the evaluation and intake appointments into a single appointment. While this change lengthened the total time of the evaluation appointment, it significantly reduced the time to treatment.
STEP 2 in Reno, Nevada reduced the waiting time for treatment from 27 days to 15 days by having the counselor assigned to the client instead of the assessment coordinator perform the admission segment.
VIP Community Services in the Bronx, New York reduced the waiting time for treatment by redesigning the assessment process so that it is now completed in one day instead of being spread over two days.
Mid-Eastern Council on Chemical Abuse (MECCA) in Des Moines and Iowa City, Iowa eliminated one individual session for each new client, freeing up counseling slots. Having already been assessed by Employee and Family Resources (EFR), a centralized assessment center operated by another agency, MECCA began completing the initial treatment plan during the first individual session rather than scheduling a separate session.