Each May, Mental Health Awareness Month highlights the importance of mental wellness and access to mental health care when people need help.
To address this need, Comprehensive Healthcare has launched “Just In Time” scheduling, so clients can schedule medication-related appointments within 3 to 5 days, instead of waiting weeks to see a provider. Just In Time is a new way to improve timely access to mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) medication services.
Getting Connected to Care
Just In Time scheduling is available at each of Comprehensive Healthcare’s outpatient clinics across Yakima, Kittitas, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties.
Current Comprehensive Healthcare clients can continue using their usual contact methods to schedule appointments.
New clients can access care by visiting their nearest clinic for a same-day mental health or SUD intake assessment – no appointment needed. From there, care teams will assess individual needs and connect clients to the appropriate services, including prescriber care.
Why Just In Time Prescribing Works
Long wait times, unpredictable schedules, and the everyday demands of work, family, and transportation can make it difficult for people to keep appointments that had been scheduled weeks in advance. When life gets in the way, people miss appointments, and with that, their medications often lapse, as well.
Delays in medication access can have real health consequences, especially during times of stress, crisis, or when people are adjusting to treatment. Missed refills, untreated side effects, and interruptions in care tend to compound recovery challenges.
Just In Time scheduling addresses these needs directly. By keeping appointments available in the near term, clients can see a provider right when they need care, keeping them connected and allowing their providers to respond more quickly to their needs and concerns.
Faster Scheduling, Stronger Care
Behavioral health organizations across the country have used this approach for more than a decade to expand access and reduce missed appointment rates. Comprehensive Healthcare first piloted the model in Yakima in January 2026 before expanding it across all five outpatient clinics. Early results show measurable improvements in engagement and appointment attendance.
Following the launch of Just In Time, client attendance rates for medication management appointments increased from 58.5% to 70%. Appointment cancellations have also decreased with the new scheduling model, dropping from 31% in November 2025 to 19% in early April 2026.
By building on existing same-day mental health and SUD assessments, Comprehensive Healthcare is extending that same commitment to timely access into medication services – ensuring clients get the care they need without unnecessary delays.
To learn more about Comprehensive Healthcare’s services, visit CompHC.org.