Reason for Discharge
Median Length of Stay (LOS)
Characteristics at Admission
Treatment Completion

Chapter 3 presents data on the reason for discharge and median length of stay (LOS) in treatment for the 730,709 linked admission/discharge records of discharges from outpatient treatment in 2007. Forty-five of the 46 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 730,709 outpatient treatment discharges in 2007:

• 38 percent (n = 278,683) completed treatment
• 14 percent (n = 99,815) were transferred to further treatment
• 31 percent (n = 224,995) dropped out of treatment
• 7 percent (n = 52,661) had treatment terminated by the facility
• 10 percent (n = 74,555) failed to complete treatment for other reasons

Median Length of Stay (LOS)

Table 2.4 and Figure 3.2. The median LOS for outpatient treatment discharges was 77 days. By reason for discharge, the median LOS for outpatient treatment discharges was:

• 118 days among those who completed treatment
• 32 days among those who transferred to further treatment
• 50 days among those who dropped out of treatment
• 63 days among those whose treatment was terminated by the facility
• 63 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 16 percent of all discharges; 8 percent reported opiates compared to 18 percent of all discharges
• 43 percent reported no use of the primary substance in the month before treatment entry compared to 29 percent of all discharges; 17 percent reported daily use compared to 37 percent of all discharges
• 52 percent had no prior treatment episodes compared to 44 percent of all discharges
• 54 percent were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system compared to 37 percent of all discharges; 19 percent were individual referrals compared to 33 percent of all discharges
• 62 percent were unemployed or not in the labor force compared to 73 percent of all discharges

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.

• Among variables whose categories represented a continuum—age, frequency of use, number of prior treatment episodes, employment status, and level of education—higher completion/transfer rates among outpatient treatment discharges were associated with:
  • Less frequent use—completion/transfer rates fell from 56 percent among discharges who reported no substance use in the month before treatment entry to 44 percent among those who reported daily substance use
  • No prior treatment episodes—the completion/transfer rate was 55 percent among discharges with no prior treatment episodes compared to 48 percent among those with one or more prior treatment episodes
  • Employment—the completion/transfer rate was 58 percent among discharges who were employed compared to 48 percent among those who were unemployed or not in the labor force
  • Higher educational level—56 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
• Among other characteristics (race/ethnicity, primary substance, treatment referral source), the completion/transfer rate among outpatient treatment discharges ranged from:
  • 46 percent among non-Hispanic Black discharges to 54 percent among non-Hispanic White discharges
  • 41 percent among discharges who reported opiates as the primary substance to 57 percent among those who reported alcohol as the primary substance
  • 53 percent of discharges who were individually referred to treatment to 58 percent of discharges who were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system

Median LOS among Discharges Completing Treatment

The overall median LOS among discharges completing outpatient treatment was 118 days. For most characteristics at admission, the median LOS was within 11 days of that number, between 107 days and 129 days.

• The median LOS was longest among discharges who reported stimulants as the primary substance (164 days) and among discharges of Hispanic origin (150 days)
• The median LOS was shortest among discharges under age 21 (103 days) and among the small proportion reporting primary use of other or unknown substances (92 days)
  

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