Introduction

The Mental Health & Addictions Pilot aimed to assess the feasibility of using Accreditron, a digital tool for streamlining the audit process for service providers. The pilot involved a range of Mental Health & Addictions providers undergoing audits between May and October 2019, with the goal of validating the tool across different organizations, enhancing user experience, and gathering feedback to improve the system.

What Happened/Methodologies

The pilot included two phases: the first with a single service provider and the second with a larger group of six providers. The team utilized co-design workshops with District Health Boards (DHBs), process mapping, interviews, and user feedback to gather data. The auditing process was broken down into stages, with feedback collected at each step. Key areas such as usability, data security, provider and auditor satisfaction, and system effectiveness were examined.

Key methodologies included:

• Co-design workshops to identify pain points.
• Process mapping to visualize current audit workflows.
• Interviews with providers and auditors to gather qualitative insights.
• Data collection through quick catch-ups, surveys, and final interviews.

1. Ease of Use: Providers found Accreditron easy to use, especially the document upload feature, though navigating to and submitting requests were initially confusing.
2. Provider Feedback: Providers appreciated the simplicity of the system but requested enhancements, such as the ability to add additional text to their responses and better file-naming conventions.
3. Audit Process: Accreditron focused only on a portion of the audit, but providers saw potential value if it expanded to cover more steps in the process.
4. Security: Providers had confidence in the security but requested clearer information within the platform to reassure their IT departments.
5. Efficiency: Providers reported significant time savings when using Accreditron, especially in repeat audits.
6. Challenges: Some confusion remained around the use of personal emails during audits, as not all auditors had access to Accreditron, leading to inefficiencies.

Recommendations

• Expand Accreditron’s Scope: Extend the tool’s functionality to cover the entire audit process, including corrective action management and report sharing.
• Enhance User Experience: Address the confusion around submitting requests by improving navigation and adding features like extra text fields and better file-naming support.
• Improve Auditor Access: Ensure auditors have full access to Accreditron to avoid double handling of documents and streamline the audit process.
• Strengthen Security Features: Provide more visible and accessible security documentation to reassure providers’ IT teams.

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