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

Chapter 6 presents data on the reason for discharge and median length of stay (LOS) in treatment for the 132,160 linked admission/discharge records of discharges from long-term residential treatment in 2007. Forty-four of the 46 reporting States had discharges from this type of service [Table 6.1].

Reason for Discharge

Table 6.1 and Figure 6.1. Of the 132,160 long-term residential treatment discharges in 2007:

• 46 percent (n = 60,496) completed treatment
• 14 percent (n = 18,450) were transferred to further treatment
• 26 percent (n = 34,767) dropped out of treatment
• 9 percent (n = 11,291) had treatment terminated by the facility
• 5 percent (n = 7,156) failed to complete treatment for other reasons

Median Length of Stay (LOS)

Table 2.4 and Figure 6.2. The median LOS for long-term residential treatment discharges was 58 days. By reason for discharge, the median LOS for long-term residential treatment discharges was:

• 89 days among those who completed treatment
• 40 days among those who transferred to further treatment
• 28 days among those who dropped out of treatment
• 47 days among those whose treatment was terminated by the facility
• 43 days among those who failed to complete treatment for other reasons

Characteristics at Admission

Table 2.6. Long-term residential discharges displayed some major differences from all discharges combined. Of long-term residential discharges:

• 22 percent reported cocaine as the primary substance of abuse compared to 14 percent of all discharges; 19 percent reported stimulants compared to 9 percent of all discharges; 28 percent reported alcohol compared to 40 percent of all discharges
• 66 percent had been in treatment one or more times compared to 56 percent of all discharges
• 26 percent were individually referred to treatment compared to 33 percent of all discharges
• 92 percent were unemployed or not in the labor force compared to 73 percent of all discharges
  

Treatment Completion

Tables 6.2 and 6.3. Table 6.2 enumerates the characteristics at admission of discharges from long-term residential treatment by reason for discharge. Table 6.3 is based on Table 6.2. 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

Tables 6.2 and 6.3. The overall combined treatment completion/transfer rate among long-term residential treatment discharges was 60 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 long-term residential treatment discharges were associated with:
  • Older age—the completion/transfer rate fell from 68 percent among discharges older than 50 years to 57 to 59 percent among discharges in the age-groups age 40 and younger
  • Less frequent use—completion/transfer rates fell from 64 percent among discharges who reported no substance use in the month before treatment entry to 54 percent among discharges who reported daily substance use
  • No prior treatment episodes—the completion/transfer rate was 64 percent among discharges with no prior treatment episodes compared to 58 percent among discharges with one or more prior treatment episodes
  • Employment—the completion/transfer rate was 69 percent among discharges who were employed compared to 59 percent among discharges who were unemployed or not in the labor force
  • Higher educational level— 64 percent of discharges with more than 12 years of education completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate fell to 57 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 long-term residential treatment discharges ranged from:
  • 54 percent among non-Hispanic Black discharges to 62 percent among non-Hispanic White discharges
  • 52 percent among discharges who reported opiates as the primary substance to 66 percent among those who reported stimulants as the primary substance
  • 57 percent of discharges who were referred to treatment by a health care or community provider to 64 percent of discharges who were individually referred

Median LOS among Discharges Completing Treatment

The overall median LOS among discharges completing long-term residential treatment was 89 days. For most characteristics at admission, the median LOS was within 10 days of that number, between 79 days and 98 days.

• The median LOS was longest among non-Hispanic Black discharges (98 days) and among discharges who reported opiates as the primary substance (97 days)
• The median LOS was shortest (54 days) among discharges who were employed at admission
  

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