Last fall the Drug and Alcohol Committee organized a work group to examine the problem of high no show rates. The work group has met several times and decided to take advantage of the expertise and services of Dr. Paul Lefkovitz, Behavioral Pathway Systems (BPS). Dr. Lefkovitz will oversee a benchmarking initiative that will examine no-show rates among drug and alcohol clients.
Process benchmarking uses benchmarking data to help identify potential best practices. The objective of the exercise is to identify organizational strategies and practices that are most effective in minimizing the no-show rate among drug and alcohol clients by systematically comparing the methods used by top performing organizations with others. Participants will receive a quantified, rank-ordered listing of potential "best practices" that can be considered for adoption. Through implementation of best practices organizational improvement can be predicted to occur.
To participate in the process benchmarking exercise, members are asked to provide anonymous and confidential responses to the questions identified by the work group. Examples are:
- What is your organization’s no-show rate among drug and alcohol clients?
- Does your support staff routinely make reminder calls the day before the initial appointment for drug and alcohol clients?
- Do your therapists routinely call drug and alcohol clients prior to their first session to introduce themselves and establish rapport?
- Do you send letters or cards to drug and alcohol clients to remind them of their initial appointment?
- Do you formally train or script support staff in methods to reduce no shows of drug and clients?
Only outpatient programs will be examined with this exercise. All PCPA members with drug and alcohol outpatient services are asked to complete the survey. Only electronic submissions of responses can be accepted. The survey is available at www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=983013467178.
Please complete the survey by May 1. The survey takes only a couple of minutes to complete, however it will be helpful if the person completing the survey reviews the questions and prepares answers prior to completing the online form. Please note: it is critical that there be only one response for each organization. Questions may be directed to Lynn Cooper at the association.
