Reason for Discharge

Median Length of Stay (LOS)

Characteristics at Admission

Treatment Completion

Chapter 4 presents data on the reason for discharge and median length of stay (LOS) in treatment for the 165,429 linked admission/discharge records of discharges from intensive outpatient treatment in 2006. Thirty-nine of the 42 reporting States had discharges from this type of service [Table 4.1].

Reason for Discharge

Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1. Of the 165,429 intensive outpatient treatment discharges in 2006:¹

• 39 percent (n = 63,783) completed treatment
• 17 percent (n = 28,782) were transferred to further treatment
• 25 percent (n = 40,974) dropped out of treatment
• 11 percent (n = 17,372) had treatment terminated by the facility
• 9 percent (n = 14,518) failed to complete treatment for other reasons
  

Median Length of Stay (LOS)

Table 2.4 and Figure 4.2. The median LOS for intensive outpatient treatment discharges was 50 days. By reason for discharge, the median LOS for intensive outpatient treatment discharges was:

• 64 days among those who completed treatment
• 48 days among those who transferred to further treatment
• 37 days among those who dropped out of treatment
• 43 days among those whose treatment was terminated by the facility
• 46 days among those who failed to complete treatment for other reasons

Characteristics at Admission

Table 2.6. Intensive outpatient discharges displayed some major differences from all discharges combined. Of intensive outpatient discharges:

• 61 percent were male compared to 68 percent of all discharges
• 37 percent reported no use of the primary substance in the month before treatment entry compared to 26 percent of all discharges; 26 percent reported daily use compared to 41 percent of all discharges
• 24 percent were individual referrals to treatment compared to 34 percent of all discharges
  
  

Treatment Completion

Tables 4.2 and 4.3. Table 4.2 enumerates the characteristics at admission of discharges from intensive outpatient treatment by reason for discharge. Table 4.3 is based on Table 4.2. 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 intensive outpatient treatment discharges was 56 percent.

• The completion/transfer rates among intensive outpatient treatment discharges were related to age, frequency of use, prior treatment history, employment status, and level of education:
• 62 percent of discharges aged 50 and over completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate fell fairly steadily to 54 percent among discharges under age 21
• 61 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 52 percent among those who reported daily use
• 59 percent of discharges with no prior treatment episodes completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate was 56 percent among those with one or more prior treatment episodes
• 62 percent of discharges who were employed completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate was 54 percent among those who were unemployed or not in the labor force
• 62 percent of discharges with more than 12 years of education completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate fell to 52 percent among those with fewer than 12 years of education
• The completion/transfer rate was highest, among other characteristics, for intensive outpatient treatment discharges who reported alcohol as the primary substance, at 62 percent.
• The completion/transfer rate was lowest, among other characteristics, for intensive outpatient treatment discharges who:
• were non-Hispanic Black, at 49 percent
• reported cocaine as the primary substance, at 49 percent

Median LOS among Discharges Completing Treatment

The overall median LOS among discharges completing intensive outpatient treatment was 64 days. For most characteristics at admission, the median LOS fell within 9 days of that number, between 55 days and 73 days.

• The median LOS was longest among discharges who reported stimulants as the primary
  substance (84 days) and among Hispanic discharges (82 days).
• The median LOS was shortest among discharges who reported daily use of the primary substance in the month before treatment entry (44 days) and among discharges who were individual referrals to treatment (48 days).
  

¹Percentages do not sum to 100 percent because of rounding.

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