Comparing inpatient and outpatient rehab success rates
Every year in the United States, drug overdoses cause tens of thousands of deaths (nearly 92,000 in 2020). Specifically, synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) contributed to the death of more than 56,000 Americans, while an estimated 95,000 people die from alcohol-related causes annually. When caught in the grip of alcohol or drug of addiction, people struggling with this chronic disease may consider obtaining inpatient or outpatient treatment. Choosing the right level of care for your drug and alcohol treatment is an important decision and one that can be extremely difficult to make. Both types of treatment have their benefits.
Inpatient vs outpatient rehab success rates
Although some studies have shown that inpatient and intensive outpatient treatment can have similar benefits, it should be noted that these studies would have excluded anyone who needed inpatient care. That is, if a patient medically or clinically needs inpatient treatment, they cannot be assigned to intensive outpatient treatment for purposes of a study, they have to be excluded from the study. So, what these results are actually showing is that among people who do not need inpatient treatment, both inpatient and intensive outpatient treatment can work well. Even then, some of the studies in this review showed that among the group of patients who were appropriate for outpatient treatment, those who were more impaired had better outcomes when treated in an inpatient setting.
While intensive outpatient treatment had the advantage of a longer duration of treatment over time, inpatient care can deliver many more treatment services (group sessions, education, individual sessions) in a shorter period of time. Additionally, whereas inpatient has the benefit of keeping people in a safe environment for the first 3 to 4 weeks of treatment, if the patient is able to stop using drugs and alcohol while at home, intensive outpatient treatment allows them to practice what they learn in real-time and put new behaviors in place while still in treatment and in the community. Another thing to keep in mind—when patients leave inpatient treatment, they almost universally transfer into intensive outpatient or traditional outpatient treatment.
Even when all this information is examined, one thing remains true—when addressing alcohol and drug use problems, the longer a patient stays in treatment, the more likely they are to get into meaningful recovery. To accomplish this, it’s important to stick with treatment, ideally starting with inpatient and continuing in outpatient. participating in some type of treatment for as long as possible is a huge component to successful sobriety.
Relapse rates in drug and alcohol treatment
Relapse rates for substance abuse disorders range between 40% and 60% according to the National Institute of Health. If we turn this statistic around to demonstrate success rates it shows that about half the time patients can maintain their sobriety.
To be clear—this doesn’t mean people who have a relapse has failed, or that their treatment has failed. Addiction is a chronic disease, just as diabetes, hypertension and asthma are chronic diseases. In fact, outcome studies indicate that 30% to 50% of adult patients with Type 2 diabetes and 50% to 70% of people with asthma or hypertension experience a recurrence of symptoms to the point that they require additional medical care within 1 year. And we would suggest that we not label a recurrence of symptoms in people with substance use disorders as a “relapse” that has more negative connotations.
Treating addiction is a process of changing behavior and changing the way the brain thinks. After chronic use of alcohol and drugs, the behavior becomes deeply rooted in the brain. If you or someone you love has a substance use problem, entering treatment is one of the best ways to end the cycle of addiction.
Choosing between inpatient vs outpatient rehab
As you’ve read, addiction to alcohol and drugs CAN be successfully treated, but it takes work. Often, people try to quit using drugs of alcohol on their own, but addiction is a serious disease and not everyone with a substance use disorder is able to fight it alone. Additionally, if a person is using large amounts of alcohol or drugs, or has been using them for an extended period of time, the physical and mental effect of detoxing on their own can be dangerous. Detoxing without medical oversight from alcohol or sedatives like Xanax of Valium can be fatal.
When a person is deciding on the type of treatment they want, here’s something to consider—in a survey of 164 patients with opioid addiction (80% who had been in detox before), 27% said they relapsed the day they were discharged from their brief detoxification program and 65% relapsed within 30 days. This is one reason why it is strongly encouraged that whatever type of treatment a person chooses, that they stay in treatment a minimum of 90 days. That doesn’t mean 90 days in inpatient treatment, but ideally about 30 days in inpatient detox and treatment followed by some form of outpatient treatment.
Choosing between an inpatient and outpatient treatment can be difficult. Both types of treatment are important and have their specific benefits. Sometimes people choose one or the other, but it’s always better if they can do both: inpatient followed by outpatient treatment – that give them the best chance of maintaining successful sobriety.
Patients who take advantage of the full course of inpatient or residential care, followed by continued outpatient treatment for a minimum of 90 days have the best chance at maintaining ongoing recovery.
Dr. Deni Carise
Chief Science Officer, PhD
Inpatient rehab treatment
If you have an addiction to drugs or alcohol and have not been able to quit on your own, inpatient treatment may be the best decision for you. A 2018 study on changing various types of negative behaviors showed that interventions to change those behaviors are more successful when the person’s environment is altered. During inpatient treatment at Recovery Centers of America, patients who are dependent on drugs or alcohol typically start with a medically supervised detoxification process to rid the body from drugs and alcohol in a safe and comfortable manner.
After detox, continued inpatient treatment at RCA provides patients with an immersive and comprehensive evidence-based treatment experience utilizing one-on-one therapy, group therapy, and family therapy along with educational, recovery/12-step activities, and community sessions.
Patients may also receive psychiatric, nutritional, spiritual, and other types of services. These sessions are administered by a highly qualified team including masters-level clinicians, social workers, case managers, and medical professionals including nurses, nurse practitioners and doctors.
Living in an inpatient treatment facility also provides patients with a much-needed break from the distractions and stressors of the outside world—a place where they can truly focus on their treatment and recovery with 24/7 round the clock support, typically for a length of 30 days.
Outpatient rehab treatment
We encourage all patients coming from our inpatient centers to continue in, or “step-down” to outpatient treatment. In the beginning of outpatient treatment, patients again receive a comprehensive assessment and biopsychosocial to get a clear view of their specific problems and the progress they’ve already made. Patients can participate in various levels of outpatient treatment. The most intensive level is called Partial Hospitalization (PHP) or Day Treatment and often meets for 5 days a week for 5 hours each day. Intensive Outpatient (IOP) typically meets 3 days a week for 3 hours. While General Outpatient (GOP) is likely 1 to 1 ½ hours once or twice a week.
Outpatient treatment programs include one-on-one therapy, group therapy, educational sessions, experiential sessions and family therapy. For lasting recovery, it’s recommended that patients join an ongoing support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA).
Beating addiction means changing behavior
Treatment of addiction involves changing deeply rooted behaviors. Inpatient and outpatient treatment programs both help people struggling with this disease to change that behavior. what matters most is that you are making a choice to change. It’s generally believed that is takes 21 days to change a habit, but 90 days to make that change routine, so once you’ve decided to make that change, it’s important to stay with some form of treatment to reinforce your new way of life. Remember the longer you practice sobriety, the better chance you have for success.
Recovery Centers of America offers a comprehensive variety of specialized services for addiction treatment as well as mental health and co-occurring disorders, intensive 12-Step programming that allows patients and their families to heal, together. Are you ready to make the change? We’re standing by waiting to help! Call us to get started on or continue your journey in recovery today!
