Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) Discharges 2006

Chapter 8 presents data on the reason for discharge and median length of stay (LOS) in treatment for the 349,381 linked admission/discharge records of discharges from detoxification in 2006. Forty-one of the 42 reporting States had discharges from this type of service [Table 8.1]. Detoxification in this chapter includes free-standing residential detoxification, hospital detoxification, and outpatient detoxification (see Chapter 2). Medication-assisted opioid detoxification is excluded and is reported in Chapter 10.

Reason for Discharge

Table 8.1 and Figure 8.1. Of the 349,381 detoxification discharges in 2006:

67 percent (n = 232,552) completed treatment
11 percent (n = 38,789) were transferred to further treatment
16 percent (n = 57,478) dropped out of treatment
3 percent (n = 10,430) had treatment terminated by the facility
3 percent (n = 10,132) failed to complete treatment for other reasons

Figure 8.1
Reason for discharge from detoxification: TEDS 2006

Pie chart comparing Reason for discharge from detoxification in TEDS 2006

Median Length of Stay (LOS)

Table 2.4 and Figure 8.2. The median LOS for detoxification discharges was 4 days. By reason for discharge, the median LOS for detoxification discharges was:

4 days among those who completed treatment
4 days among those who transferred to further treatment
2 days among those who dropped out of treatment
3 days among those whose treatment was terminated by the facility
2 days among those who failed to complete treatment for other reasons

Characteristics at Admission

Table 2.6. Detoxification discharges displayed some major differences from all discharges combined. Of detoxification discharges:

75 percent were male compared to 68 percent of all discharges
34 percent were aged 41 to 50 years compared to 25 of all discharges; 3 percent were under age 21 compared to 14 percent of all discharges
51 percent reported alcohol as the primary substance of abuse compared to 39 percent of all discharges; 30 percent reported opiates compared to 19 percent of all discharges
79 percent reported daily use of the primary substance in the month before treatment entry compared to 41 percent of all discharges; 2 percent reported no substance use in the month before treatment entry compared to 26 percent of all discharges
63 percent were individual referrals to treatment compared to 34 percent of all discharges
85 percent were unemployed or not in the labor force compared to 74 percent of all discharges

Figure 8.2
Median length of stay in detoxification, by reason for discharge: TEDS 2006

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

Treatment Completion

Tables 8.2 and 8.3. Table 8.2 enumerates the characteristics at admission of discharges from detoxification by reason for discharge. Table 8.3 is based on Table 8.2. 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 detoxification discharges was 78 percent.

The completion/transfer rates among detoxification discharges were related to age, employment status, and level of education:

82 percent of discharges aged 50 and over completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate fell to 73 to 74 percent among discharges in the age-groups age 30 and younger
81 percent of discharges who were employed completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate was 77 percent among discharges who were unemployed or not in the labor force
80 percent of discharges with more than 12 years of education completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate fell to 77 percent among discharges with 12 years of education or fewer

The completion/transfer rate was highest, among other characteristics, for detoxification discharges who were referred to treatment by a health care or community source, at 83 percent.
The completion/transfer rate was lowest, among other characteristics, for detoxification discharges who reported opiates as the primary substance, at 72 percent

Median LOS among Discharges Completing Treatment

The overall median LOS among discharges completing detoxification was 4 days. The median LOS fell within 1 day of that number, between 3 days and 5 days, for most characteristics. The only exception was the small proportion reporting no substance use in the month before treatment entry, where the median LOS was 7 days.

To Table of Contents