Facilities
Offering Outpatient Care
| In Brief |
- Nationally, 82 percent of substance
abuse treatment facilities offered outpatient care
- One of 10 outpatient
facilities reported providing methadone or LAAM treatment
- Almost one-quarter
of facilities offering outpatient care (24 percent) offered treatment in Spanish
|
The National Survey
of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) is an annual survey of all facilities
in the United States, both public and private, that provide substance abuse treatment.
The 2000 N-SSATS asked which type of care the facilities currently offered: outpatient,
residential (non-hospital), and hospital inpatient. This report examines the characteristics
of facilities offering outpatient care. Characteristics of facilities offering
other types of substance abuse care were examined in previous short reports.1
Of the 13,428 facilities responding to the 2000 N-SSATS, 10,946, or 82 percent,
offered outpatient care. Of the facilities offering outpatient care, 81 percent
offered only outpatient care, while 19 percent also offered other types of care,
including combinations of residential and outpatient care (11 percent), hospital
inpatient and outpatient care (6 percent), and hospital inpatient, residential,
and outpatient care (2 percent).
On a typical day, more than 887,000 outpatient
clients were enrolled in treatment facilities offering outpatient care (averaging
90 outpatients per facility), with about 74,000 of these under the age of 18.2
Of the outpatients in facilities offering outpatient care, 83 percent were enrolled
in regular outpatient treatment, 13 percent in intensive outpatient treatment
(defined as a minimum of 2 hours per day on 3 or more days per week), 2 percent
in detoxification, and 2 percent in day treatment or partial hospitalization.
Almost half (45 percent) of the clients in facilities offering outpatient care
only were treated for both alcohol and drug abuse, while 32 percent were treated
only for drug abuse, and 23 percent were treated only for alcohol abuse.3
Primary
Focus
Over half (56 percent) of facilities offering
outpatient care had a primary focus of substance abuse, 28 percent had a primary
focus of mental health and substance abuse, and 11 percent had a primary focus
of mental health. Three percent of outpatient facilities reported a primary focus
of general health care, and 2 percent reported some other primary focus of care.
Type of
Treatment
Eighty-four
percent of facilities offering outpatient care provided only rehabilitation, while
16 percent provided both detoxification and rehabilitation. Less than one percent
of outpatient facilities reported providing only detoxification. One of 10 outpatient
facilities reported providing methadone or LAAM treatment.
Ownership
Private non-profit
organizations owned more than half (56 percent) of the outpatient facilities.
Private for-profit facilities accounted for 29 percent, and local governments
for 9 percent of outpatient facilities. State and Federal governments each operated
3 percent of outpatient facilities.
Services
Facilities were asked
about the provision of 26 services. The services most frequently offered in outpatient
facilities were individual therapy (96 percent), comprehensive substance abuse
assessment (95 percent), and group therapy (89 percent) (Table 1). Almost three-fifths
(57 percent) of outpatient facilities offered at least 13 services (Figure 1).
| Table 1. Services Provided by at Least 60 Percent of Facilities Offering Outpatient
Care: 2000 | Figure
1. Percent of Outpatient Facilities Providing Specified Numbers of Services: 2000 |
| Service | Percent of Facilities | | Individual
Therapy | 96 |
| Comprehensive Substance Abuse Assessment | 95 |
| Group Therapy | 89 |
| Referral to Other Transitional Services | 82 |
| Aftercare Counseling | 82 |
| Family Counseling | 81 |
| Discharge Planning | 78 |
| Drug/Alcohol Urine Screening | 77 |
| Relapse Prevention | 75 |
| Case Management Services | 66 |
|
 |
Source: 2000 SAMHSA National Survey of Substance Abuse
Treatment Services (N-SSATS).
Special
Populations Served
Facilities
were also asked about the provision of treatment groups and programs for nine
special populations (Table 2). Most frequently outpatient facilities provided
programs or groups for persons with co-occurring disorders (52 percent), for adolescents
(42 percent), and for women only (39 percent).
| Table 2. Programs or Groups for Special Populations Provided by Facilities Offering
Outpatient Care: 2000 |
| Program
or Group | Percent | | Persons
with Co-Occurring Disorders | 52 |
| Adolescents | 42 |
| Women Only | 39 |
| Men Only | 30 |
| Pregnant/Postpartum Women | 21 |
| Persons with HIV/AIDS | 20 |
| Seniors | 18 |
| Other | 16 |
| Gays/Lesbians | 15 |
|
| Source: 2000 SAMHSA National Survey of Substance
Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS). |
Treatment
Offered in a Language Other Than English
About one-third (30 percent) of facilities offering outpatient
care provided treatment in a language other than English. Of the facilities providing
treatment in a language other than English, 79 percent offered treatment in Spanish,
10 percent offered treatment in another language, and 11 percent offered treatment
in Spanish and another language. Thus, almost one-quarter of the outpatient facilities
(24 percent) offered treatment in Spanish.
Payment
Accepted, Payment Assistance, and Managed Care
Self-payment (92 percent) and private health insurance (76
percent) were the types of payment most frequently accepted by facilities offering
outpatient care. Other types of payment accepted included Medicaid (58 percent),
Medicare (40 percent), Federal military insurance (38 percent), and State-financed
insurance (37 percent).
More than two-thirds (70 percent) of facilities
offering outpatient care used a sliding fee scale. Almost three-fifths (57 percent)
of outpatient facilities had contracts or other arrangements with managed care
organizations.
End Notes
1
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2003, May 23). The
DASIS Report. Facilities Offering Residential Care. Rockville, MD: Author.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2003, June
20). The DASIS Report. Facilities Offering Hospital Inpatient Care. Rockville,
MD. Author.
2 Based on the survey response date, October 1, 2000.
3Type of substance abuse
of outpatient clients could be obtained only for facilities which served outpatient
clients only, since percentage of each type of substance abuse is a facility characteristic.
Figure Note
1
The 26 services include comprehensive substance abuse assessment/diagnosis, comprehensive
mental health assessment/diagnosis, family counseling, group therapy, individual
therapy, pharmacotherapies/prescription medication, relapse prevention groups,
aftercare counseling, blood alcohol testing, drug/alcohol urine screening, hepatitis
testing, HIV testing, STD testing, TB screening, assistance with obtaining Social
Services, discharge planning, employment counseling/training, housing assistance,
referral to other transitional services, case management services, child care,
domestic violence—family/partner violence services, HIV/AIDS education/counseling/support,
outcome follow-up, transportation assistance to treatment, and acupuncture.
| 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 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment
Services (N-SSATS), an annual survey of all facilities in the United States, both
public and private, that provide substance abuse treatment. N-SSATS was formerly
known as the Uniform Facility Data Set (UFDS).
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 report are based on data reported to N-SSATS for the survey
reference date October 1, 2000.
Access the latest N-SSATS/UFDS reports at:
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/dasis.htm
Access the latest N-SSATS/UFDS 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. |
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This page was last updated on December 30, 2008.
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