Conducting a Walk-Through

MAT Walk-through Instructions & Template

Use the Medication-Assisted Therapy (MAT) Walk-through Recording Template (below) for cues about what to look for during your walk-through and to record your reactions.

To start any improvement effort, the Change Leader and one other person, ideally the Executive Sponsor, conduct a walk-through to experience what it’s like to be a customer of your agency or facility. The walk-through helps you understand the customer’s perspective and the organizational processes that inhibit access to and retention in treatment.

For the NIATx Ohio Buprenorphine Implementation study, please play the role of someone with an opioid addiction that has tried behavioral therapy three times without success and would like to try medication therapy as a treatment option. They state during the intake appointment they have heard of Suboxone and would like to consider use of that medication.

PLAN the Walk-through

1. Ask the Change Leader and one other person to play the roles of “client” and “family member.” They will need to be detail-oriented and committed to making the most of this exercise. To ensure that their experiences will be as realistic and informative as possible, have them present themselves as dealing with an opioid addiction case you are familiar with, and thus are able to consider the needs of people with this particular addiction issue.

2. Let the staff know in advance that you will be doing the walk-through exercise. Ask them to treat the role-play as they would anyone else,

DO the Walk-through

3. Have the Change Leader and one other person go through the experience just as a typical client and family member would. The walk-through should begin with a customer’s first contact with your agency: an individual seeking services or family member interested in obtaining treatment services making a first call for information.

4. Try to think and feel as a client or family member would. Observe your surroundings and consider what a client or family might be thinking or feeling at any given moment. Record your observations and feelings.

5. At each step, ask the staff to tell you what changes (other than hiring new staff) would improve the experience for the client, family member, and staff. Write down their ideas and feelings as well as your own.

STUDY the Results

6. Make a list of the areas that need improvement along with suggested changes to attempt. Include the perspectives of the client, family member, and staff. Sort the ideas into those that are directly linked with your team’s improvement project and those that are unrelated.

7. As a team, discuss what went well with the walk through, what didn’t go well or was confusing, and what you would do differently the next time around.

ACT on the results

8. Share the results with your Executive Sponsor and bring your results to the Ohio Buprenorphine Implementation Study Kick-off Session.

MAT Walk-through Recording Template

Use this template to record your experiences and observations from your walk-through exercise, as well as the suggestions that you’ve gathered from your staff.

First Contact

Observations: / 1. Did you get a busy signal, voice mail, an automated greeting, or did a live person answer the call?
2. Did the agency offer you an appointment on your first call?
3. How long did you wait for your first appointment?
4. Would you have to miss work to attend the appointment?
5. Would you have difficulty reaching the site without access to a car?
6. Does the agency offer transportation to the site if you don’t have transportation?
7. Other issues?
Recommendations:

First Appointment

Observations: / 1. Was it easy to find the agency?
2. Were parking, directions, and signage adequate?
3. Did the site feel pleasant and welcoming or cold and harsh?
4. Were you welcomed to the agency in an open and friendly manner?
5. Other issues?
Recommendations:

Intake and Assessment

Observations: / 1. Did the family member accompany you through the entire intake process?
2. How long did you spend in the waiting room?
3. Was a urine test required? Did it have to be observed?
4. What was the assessment process like?
5. a) If had medication induction, did you have to wait between your assessment and medication induction? b) If had to be referred to another provider for Buprenorphine, what was that process like? c) Or, was there no Buprenorphine referral (just state so)
6. Other issues?
Recommendations:

Induction (at your agency or at the provider you were referred to)

Observations: / 1. How were you treated?
2. Did the agency contact you to confirm your appointment?
3. Was it clear where you were to go and what you could expect to happen?
4. What questions or concerns should have been addressed prior to induction? Did you have adequate information?
5. What is the induction process like?
Recommendations:

Final Considerations

What surprised you most during your walk-through?
What changes do you most want to make?