CAP Quality Care - Opioid Treatment Provider Pilot

CAP Quality Care in Westbrook, Maine is the second largest opioid treatment program in the state. Its mission is to provide the most effective treatment for opioid addiction.

Increase admissions and continuation in opioid treatment program

Cycle 1: Connect callers seeking admission to a live person, who completes phone screening immediately.

Cycle 2: Institute contingency management for payment of fees: reward people for paying back balances.

Cycle 3: Limit sign-up to one group at a time. Some patients would sign up for multiple groups to make sure they would meet the state’s requirement to attend at least one group each month.

Cycle 4: Assign primary counselor and schedule session within first 48 hours of treatment.

• Increased screenings by 56%
• Reclaimed $2000 in overdue balances
• Increased encounters in first 45 days by 26.6%
• Increased continuation by an average of 28% over the course of the NIATx OTP project
• Decreased no-shows by 11.5%

Connecting callers to a live person who can complete a screening immediately personalizes services. Using contingency management for paying fees keeps patients from withdrawing due to financial reasons. Having clients sign up for only one group at a time reduces their anxiety keeping track of multiple scheduled appointments. Assigning a primary counselor within 48 hours of treatment gets patients engaged in treatment early, maintains census and profitability, and spreads the high cost of maintaining new patients over a longer period of revenue production.

Rework Cycle 1 to maintain improvement through change in staffing assignments; implement intensive “105 day/Induction Specialist" program.