The Dasis Report (Drug and Alcohol Information System)
December 19, 2003

Discharges from Intensive Outpatient Treatment: 2000
In Brief
  • About two fifths (41 percent) of intensive outpatient treatment episodes involved individuals who completed treatment, while 9 percent involved those who were transferred to further treatment
    •
  • The intensive outpatient treatment completion rate was highest, at 51 percent, for episodes where alcohol was the primary substance

  • The median length of stay for completed intensive outpatient treatment episodes was 49 days

This report examines discharge data in the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).1 TEDS is comprised of two major components, the Admission Data System and the Discharge Data System. Both admission and discharge data come primarily from facilities that receive some public funding.

States are asked to submit data for all discharges from substance abuse treatment. In 2000, 18 States2 submitted 347,923 records for clients discharged from treatment. Nearly all of these records (94 percent) could be linked to a TEDS admission record. These 326,750 linked admission/discharge records are referred to as treatment episodes. Of these episodes, over 99 percent (323,156) had a valid response for reason for discharge. This report presents data on the 16 percent (52,248) of these treatment episodes that represent clients who received intensive outpatient treatment (Table 1). Intensive outpatient treatment is treatment that, at a minimum, lasts two or more hours per day for three or more days per week. Clients discharged from regular outpatient treatment and outpatient detoxification are not included in this report.3

Table 1. Discharges from Intensive Outpatient Treatment, by Reason for Discharge and Primary Substance at Admission: 2000
   
Reason for Discharge
   
Primary substance
at admission
Total

Treatment
Completed

Transferred
to Further
Treatment

Left Against
Professional
Advice

Terminated
by Facility

Other
Alcohol
24,588
12,744
1,951
4,834
3,696
1,363
Opiates
3,629
853
526
1,227
889
134
Cocaine
7,812
2,084
602
1,309
2,166
651
Marijuana/hashish
11,212
4,292
992
2,391
2,652
885
Stimulants
3,816
1,303
633
867
761
252
Other/unknown
1,191
497
83
312
195
104
Total
52,248
21,773
4,787
11,940
10,359
3,389
Source: 2000 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).


Reasons for Discharge
About two fifths (41 percent) of intensive outpatient treatment episodes involved individuals who completed treatment, and another 9 percent involved those who were transferred to further treatment (Figure 1). The remaining intensive outpatient treatment episodes involved clients who left against professional advice (23 percent); whose treatment was terminated by the facility (20 percent); or who were discharged for other reasons (7 percent).
Figure 1. Reasons for Discharge among Intensive Outpatient Treatment Discharges: 2000
Figure 1. Reasons for Discharge among Intensive Outpatient Treatment Discharges: 2000
Source: 2000 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).


Primary Substance
Alcohol was the primary substance of abuse4 in 58 percent of the completed intensive outpatient treatment episodes (Figure 2), followed by marijuana (20 percent), cocaine (10 percent), stimulants (6 percent), opiates (4 percent), and other substances (2 percent).
Figure 2. Primary Substances of Intensive Outpatient Treatment Completers: 2000
Figure 2. Primary Substances of Intensive Outpatient Treatment Completers: 2000
Source: 2000 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).


Completion of Outpatient Treatment
 The intensive outpatient treatment completion rate was highest, at 51 percent, for episodes involving alcohol as the primary substance of abuse (Figure 3). For intensive outpatient treatment episodes with marijuana as the primary substance, the completion rate was 38 percent, followed by stimulants at 33 percent. Intensive outpatient treatment completion rates for episodes where the primary substances were cocaine or opiates were 27 percent and 24 percent, respectively.

Figure 3. Primary Substances of Intensive Outpatient Treatment Discharges, by Reason for Discharge: 2000
Figure 3. Primary Substances of Intensive Outpatient Treatment Discharges, by Reason for Discharge: 2000
Source: 2000 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).


Median Length of Stay
The median length of stay for completed intensive outpatient treatment episodes was 49 days, ranging from 42 days for cocaine to 54 days for stimulants (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Median Length of Stay among Intensive Outpatient Treatment Completers, by Primary Substance: 2000
Figure 4. Median Length of Stay among Intensive Outpatient Treatment Completers, by Primary Substance: 2000
Source: 2000 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).


End Notes
1 For an earlier report on TEDS discharges, see Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. The DASIS report: Treatment completion in the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). Rockville, MD. January 30, 2003.

2 States included are California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming.

3 Because treatment completion rates and lengths of stay vary across modalities or types of treatment, reports on other modalities, including regular outpatient, short-term residential, and detoxification treatment will be presented in other DASIS reports. The report on regular outpatient discharges is available. See Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. The DASIS report: Discharges from Outpatient Treatment: 2000. Rockville, MD. November 21, 2003.

4 The primary substance of abuse is the main substance abused at the time of admission.


The Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS) is an integrated data system maintained by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). One component of DASIS is the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). TEDS is a compilation of data on the demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of those admitted for substance abuse treatment. The information comes primarily from facilities that receive some public funding. Information on treatment admissions is routinely collected by State administrative systems and then submitted to SAMHSA in a standard format. Approximately 1.6 million records are included in TEDS each year. TEDS records represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person may be admitted to treatment more than once.

The DASIS Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA; Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc., Arlington, Virginia; and RTI, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

Information and data for this issue are based on data reported to TEDS through April 1, 2002.

Access the latest TEDS reports at:
www.oas.samhsa.gov/dasis.htm

Access the latest TEDS public use files at:
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/SAMHDA.htm

Other substance abuse reports are available at:
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov
The DASIS Report is published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Additional copies of this report or other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are available on-line: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov. Citation of the source is appreciated.

This page was last updated on December 30, 2008.