Reason for Discharge

Median Length of Stay (LOS)

Characteristics at Admission

Treatment Completion

Chapter 7 presents data on the reason for discharge and median length of stay (LOS) in treatment for the 6,240 linked admission/discharge records of discharges from hospital residential treatment in 2006. Fifteen of the 42 reporting States had discharges from this type of service [Table 7.1].

Reason for Discharge

Table 7.1 and Figure 7.1. Of the 6,240 hospital residential treatment discharges in 2006:

• 70 percent (n = 4,354) completed treatment
• 17 percent (n = 1,076) were transferred to further treatment
• 9 percent (n = 563) dropped out of treatment
• 3 percent (n = 159) had treatment terminated by the facility
• 1 percent (n = 88) failed to complete treatment for other reasons
  

Median Length of Stay (LOS)

Table 2.4 and Figure 7.2. The median LOS for hospital residential treatment discharges was 17 days. By reason for discharge, the median LOS for hospital residential treatment discharges was:

• 20 days among those who completed treatment
• 10 days among those who transferred to further treatment
• 6 days among those who dropped out of treatment
• 12 days among those whose treatment was terminated by the facility
• 10 days among those who failed to complete treatment for other reasons

Characteristics at Admission

Table 2.6. Hospital residential discharges displayed some major differences from all discharges combined. Of hospital residential discharges:

• 70 percent were non-Hispanic White compared to 57 percent of all discharges
• 63 percent reported daily use of the primary substance in the month before treatment entry compared to 41 percent of all discharges; 11 percent reported no substance use in the month before treatment entry compared to 26 percent of all discharges
• 45 percent were individual referrals to treatment compared to 34 percent of all discharges
• 31 percent had more than 12 years of education compared to 22 percent of all discharges
  

Treatment Completion

Tables 7.2 and 7.3. Table 7.2 enumerates the characteristics at admission of discharges from hospital residential treatment by reason for discharge. Table 7.3 is based on Table 7.2. 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 hospital residential treatment discharges was 87 percent.

• The completion/transfer rates among hospital residential treatment discharges were slightly related to age, frequency of use, prior treatment history, employment status, and level of education:
• 91 percent of discharges aged 50 and over completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate fell to 85 to 86 percent among discharges in the age-groups age 40 and younger
• 88 percent of discharges who reported daily substance use in the month before treatment entry completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; rate was 86 percent among discharges who reported no or less than daily use
• 89 percent of discharges with no prior treatment episodes completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate was 87 percent among discharges with one or more prior treatment episodes
• 90 percent of discharges who were employed completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate was 86 percent among discharges who were unemployed or not in the labor force
• 89 percent of discharges with more than 12 years of education completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate fell to 85 percent among discharges with fewer than 12 years of education
• The completion/transfer rate was highest, among other characteristics, for hospital residential treatment discharges who:
• reported alcohol as the primary substance, at 90 percent
• were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system, at 90 percent
• The completion/transfer rate was lowest, among other characteristics, for hospital residential treatment discharges reporting stimulants as the primary substance, at 78 percent.

Median LOS among Discharges Completing Treatment

The overall median LOS among discharges completing hospital residential treatment was 20 days. For most characteristics at admission, the median LOS fell within 2 days of that number, between 18 days and 22 days.

• The median LOS was longest (22 days) among discharges who reported cocaine as the primary substance.
• The median LOS was shortest among discharges under age 21 (11 days) and discharges reporting marijuana as the primary substance (12 days).
  

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