For behavioural health provider Acclaim Autism, it started with a hard truth. After a year of development on a custom-built Java system designed to handle patient referrals, Jamie Turner, the company’s president, was told by an outside consultant to tear it all down. “Rip it out and start over,” was the advice.
“We were a small organisation trying to solve a massive problem,” Turner says. “We didn’t have the luxury to waste time on the wrong technology path.”
Founded in 2019, Acclaim Autism provides behavioural health services for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Operating across Southern California and Eastern Pennsylvania, the organisation’s growth has been rapid—close to 100% year-on-year. But that pace exposed serious limitations in their operational infrastructure.
The intake process for children requiring behavioural therapy is often riddled with paperwork, miscommunication, and long delays.
In the US, one in 31 children is diagnosed with ASD. For those families, the earlier the child receives a diagnosis and intervention, the better the outcomes. But the path from diagnosis to treatment can be blocked by bottlenecks in documentation, insurance validation, and care team assignment.
“For some families, even after they completed the intake process, it took six months just to get services started,” says Turner.
Behind the scenes, Acclaim’s staff were caught in a maze of spreadsheets, emails, and phone calls. Manual entry errors were common, regulations were numerous, and burnout was high.
“The processes and technology in autism services are, frankly, terrible,” says Ryan Cox, Acclaim’s COO. “Mistakes were common, error rates were high, and families were giving up. Some children never received services.”
Back to the drawing board with low code
After scrapping their Java-based system, Acclaim was introduced to Appian, a low-code automation and process management platform. “We looked at other platforms, but Appian stood out,” says Turner.
“They connected us with Ignite, an implementation partner, and we brought in our own developers to work alongside them. It was a completely different experience.”
The new system allowed Acclaim to begin tailoring software that met the needs of its highly specific behavioural health workflows. While many providers in the healthcare space rely on large-scale medical systems like EPIC, these are often unsuitable for behavioural health.
“The software that does exist is very siloed,” says Turner. “We needed something we could build to match our operational flow.”
The results, according to Turner, have been dramatic. Acclaim has reduced its patient intake time by 83%. A key part of that has been the use of AI to automate the extraction of data from diagnosis documents—typically PDFs from external providers like neurologists and paediatricians.
Acclaim Autism’s president, Jamie Turner
These unstructured documents once had to be read and interpreted manually, often incorrectly. Now, an AI model built on Appian’s platform automatically extracts and categorises the information with over 99% accuracy.
“We’ve had zero rejections from diagnosis documents since implementing it,” Turner says. “It scans the document, pulls the data, and tells the team exactly what to do next.”
This has had knock-on effects throughout the organisation. Staff who once spent hours chasing paperwork can now focus on delivering services. “Nobody enters this field to drown in spreadsheets,” says Turner.
“We were losing our best people to burnout. Now they can do the job they were trained to do.”
The improvements go beyond intake. Acclaim has used Appian to automate key HR functions, streamline insurance workflows using robotic process automation (RPA), and is now piloting a scheduling tool designed specifically for Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) therapy.
The scheduling system considers availability, preferences, clinical compatibility, and even personal details like pet allergies when matching care teams to children.
“It’s designed from a clinical point of view, not an admin one,” says Cox. “It ensures the best match between therapists and families, which is essential for delivering consistent, effective care.”
Communication, once a major friction point, is also being overhauled. Missed messages and lost requests are now less of an issue, thanks to Appian’s centralised case management features. All communication is logged, tracked, and visible to relevant team members.
HIPAA compliance
Compliance has also been central to the system’s design. In the US, any system handling patient data must comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Turner says Appian’s “private AI” model has proven critical. “They signed a Business Associate Agreement with us. All data used in AI processing is de-identified and remains securely within the Appian platform. That level of security and privacy was essential.”
Appian’s architecture has also made geographic growth more manageable. Acclaim currently operates in five regions and plans to expand further. The company’s system is designed to be easily scaled by tagging data and processes to specific regions.
While Acclaim’s current focus is on strengthening its operational core, telehealth and clinical tool development are both on the roadmap. “Once we’ve nailed the basics, we can build out new services like telehealth,” says Turner. “We’ve created a platform we can grow into, not just grow on.”
For other healthcare organisations considering a similar transformation, Turner offers practical advice. “Start with the boring stuff. The repetitive tasks with high error rates. That’s where AI can deliver instant impact.”
Reflecting on the past few years, Turner says discovering Appian was a revelation. “I’d never heard of them before. In my mind, you either build software yourself or buy a product off the shelf. Appian is something in between. It’s a powerful alternative that more healthcare organisations should consider.”
Acclaim Autism’s journey highlights the potential of process automation to make a difference in healthcare delivery—not just in terms of cost or efficiency, but in real-world outcomes. As Turner points out “every hour saved, every error avoided, contributes to getting children the help they need, faster.”
