The Health Care Authority (HCA), in partnership with UW Behavioral Health Institute at Harborview (BHI) and Principle Allies, developed the SUD Organizational Development Assessment (SODA) to advance quality substance use disorder (SUD) treatment across the state.
About the SODA
Created in 2023 and piloted in 2024, the SODA addresses findings that SUD providers struggle to adopt new curriculum and training due to various organizational barriers. Examples of these barriers include challenges with recruitment and retention, an inability to capture reimbursement for services rendered due to credentialing and contracting, and system service gaps that distract staff attention from clinical quality. SODA tool development leveraged extensive literature review and input from interviews with health system stakeholders, including providers, managed care organizations, and academic experts. Universally, stakeholders and pilot participants found the SODA to be a meaningful, accurate, and useful tool to identify and plan quality initiatives.
The SODA assesses barriers to and facilitators of success, and it informs a tailored strategy to address training, staffing, and quality improvement efforts that focus on the unique needs of the organization and the individuals they serve. The SODA is modeled on the Washington Integrated Care Assessment (WA-ICA) but is distinct in that it focuses on SUD providers, particularly those that are smaller and operate outside the context of an integrated care environment. As such, the SODA delves into factors that are specific to SUD treatments. As a standardized and piloted tool, the assessment has two primary purposes:
- Assist an SUD agency in an internal review to identify its strengths and opportunities for investment. The tool can be used multiple times to gauge progress toward improvement goals.
- Provide information to health system partners on common areas of support needed to achieve quality outcomes among SUD providers in the state.
The assessment can be adopted as a self-administered standalone tool or as part of a structured technical assistance program. Ultimately, the goal is to strengthen SUD treatment providers and improve clinical outcomes.
SODA components
The tool consists of three primary components:
- Implementation guide
- Organizational assessment
- Scoring and planning tool
Is your team interested in a supported assessment implementation or future learning cohorts?
Contact Principle Allies to express interest
For Questions about the tool or assessment, contact Principle Allies