Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) Discharges 2006

Chapter 3 presents data on the reason for discharge and median length of stay (LOS) in treatment for the 618,662 linked admission/discharge records of discharges from outpatient treatment in 2006. Forty-one of the 42 reporting States had discharges from this type of service [Table 3.1]. Outpatient treatment in this chapter excludes intensive outpatient treatment (Chapter 4), outpatient detoxification (Chapter 8), and outpatient medication-assisted opioid therapy (Chapter 9).

Reason for Discharge

Table 3.1 and Figure 3.1. Of the 618,662 outpatient treatment discharges in 2006:

40 percent (n = 249,244) completed treatment
12 percent (n = 71,688) were transferred to further treatment
29 percent (n = 177,339) dropped out of treatment
9 percent (n = 55,914) had treatment terminated by the facility
10 percent (n = 64,477) failed to complete treatment for other reasons

Figure 3.1
Reason for discharge from outpatient treatment: TEDS 2006

Pie chart comparing Reason for discharge from outpatient treatment in TEDS 2006

Median Length of Stay (LOS)

Table 2.4 and Figure 3.2. The median LOS for outpatient treatment discharges was 87 days. By reason for discharge, the median LOS for outpatient treatment discharges was:

121 days among those who completed treatment
52 days among those who transferred to further treatment
61 days among those who dropped out of treatment
69 days among those whose treatment was terminated by the facility
70 days among those who failed to complete treatment for other reasons

Characteristics at Admission

Table 2.6. Outpatient treatment discharges displayed some major differences from all discharges combined. Of outpatient treatment discharges:

24 percent reported marijuana as the primary substance of abuse compared to 15 percent of all discharges; 7 percent reported opiates compared to 19 percent of all discharges
42 percent reported no use of the primary substance in the month before treatment entry compared to 26 percent of all discharges; 17 percent reported daily use compared to 41 percent of all discharges
55 percent had no prior treatment episodes compared to 46 percent of all discharges
55 percent were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system compared to 35
percent of all discharges
62 percent were unemployed or not in the labor force compared to 74 percent of all discharges

Figure 3.2
Median length of stay in outpatient treatment, by reason for discharge: TEDS 2006

Bar chart comparing Median length of stay in outpatient treatment, by reason for discharge in TEDS 2006

Treatment Completion

Tables 3.2 and 3.3. Table 3.2 enumerates the characteristics at admission of discharges from outpatient treatment by reason for discharge. Table 3.3 is based on Table 3.2. It presents two related proportions: a) the percent distribution of characteristics at admission among discharges completing treatment or transferring to further treatment compared to those who did not complete treatment, and b) the combined rate of completion or transfer to further treatment by characteristic at admission.

Completion/Transfer Rates and Characteristics at Admission

The overall combined treatment completion/transfer rate among outpatient treatment discharges was 52 percent.

The completion/transfer rates among outpatient treatment discharges were related to frequency of use, prior treatment history, employment status, and level of education:

57 percent of discharges who reported no substance use in the month before treatment entry completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate fell to 44 percent among those who reported daily substance use in the month before treatment entry
59 percent of discharges with no prior treatment episodes completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate was 52 percent among those with one or more prior treatment episodes
59 percent of discharges who were employed completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate was 48 percent among those who were unemployed or not in the labor force
57 percent of discharges with more than 12 years of education completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate fell to 49 percent among discharges with fewer than 12 years of education

The completion/transfer rate was highest, among other characteristics, for outpatient treatment discharges who:

reported alcohol as the primary substance, at 59 percent
were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system, at 58 percent

The completion/transfer rate was lowest, among other characteristics, for outpatient treatment discharges who:

were non-Hispanic Black, at 45 percent
reported opiates or cocaine as the primary substance, at 41 percent and 44 percent, respectively
were individually referred to treatment (43 percent) or were referred to treatment by health care/community sources (46 percent)

Median LOS among Discharges Completing Treatment

The overall median LOS among discharges completing outpatient treatment was 121 days. For most characteristics at admission, the median LOS fell within 10 days of that number, between 111 days and 131 days.

The median LOS was longest among Hispanic discharges (148 days) and among discharges who reported stimulants or opiates as the primary substance (155 days and 136 days, respectively).
The median LOS was shortest among discharges under age 21 (106 days) and among the small proportion reporting primary use of other or unknown substances (105 days).

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