It's Walk-Through Time: A Day In The Life of the Customer

One of the most interesting things I've gotten to do while working at BCI has been a walk-through of our treatment program from the client's perspective. Not only does it give me a point of view I rarely get to see, but it yields all kinds of useful information you just can’t get any other way. It’s been four years since we last did one, but now it is time again.

Tomorrow, at the Alpha North Wilmington Center, one of my co-workers will pose as a client seeking admission, and I will be their family member/observer. The idea is to experience the admissions process in order to more fully understand BCI’s strengths and limitations. Is the process working as intended? How easy is it to get treatment when you want it? Do we do as good a job as we think we do?

When we did this before, the answer has been, sometimes yes, sometimes no. Check out some of our actual findings:

From our methadone program in 2003: “Samantha called the Lancaster office to schedule a methadone intake. The receptionist told her to call back at 12 noon because ‘that’s when I make appointments.’ Samantha called a second time and said ‘I need to get on methadone.’ She was put on hold again, then disconnected.”

From our drug free program in 2004: “Diana attended orientation group at the Alpha Program. The group started fifteen minutes late, and the room was too hot. The facilitator read directly from the client handbook, gave rambling explanations, and did not have control of the group. The clients became frustrated and made disruptive outbursts like, ‘This program will take 10 years – it’s ridiculous!’”

We, the staff, were shocked that things like this were actually happening at BCI, but we went to work to fix it. At the methadone clinic, we shifted the triage process from the receptionist to the nurses, who could pre-screen people over the phone and direct them where to go. The result was that the wait for an appointment was reduced by half. At the Alpha program, we standardized the curriculum for orientation group, reassigned it to a more skilled facilitator, and began a streamlining process that eventually turned a 90 minute group into a ten minute video. This was how we launched the Paths to Recovery process improvement effort that continues today.

These were huge changes, and that is the payoff of going through the walk-through exercise. It is a must for any treatment program that truly wants to better understand its customer’s needs and do a better job at meeting them.

What will we find at North Wilmington? It’s anyone’s guess. Sometimes, the truth hurts, but it is worth it if it leads to real improvement.