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Drug detox rates in the United States

Addiction is not spread evenly across the country. New Mexico, Colorado, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Indiana, West Virginia, Missouri, Michigan and Florida carry more of…

Published January 7, 2020 · Reviewed by Sergey Litvinov, MD · ~763 words

Addiction is not spread evenly across the country. New Mexico, Colorado, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Indiana, West Virginia, Missouri, Michigan and Florida carry more of it than most, and several of the drugs behind those numbers are the ones with the hardest detox. If you are trying to work out what detox actually looks like in Florida, or nationally, here are the numbers.

Of all treatment facilities in the U.S., 10% provide outpatient detox, 8% provide residential detox, and 5% provide hospital inpatient detoxification. In total, 2,981 out of a total of 14,809 treatment facilities offer some type of drug and alcohol detoxification service. Below is a breakdown of what percent of drug detox centers treat particular types of substances for detox. This only covers opioid detox, alcohol detox, benzo detox, meth detox, and cocaine detox. The remaining drugs are grouped into a general category or “other substances.”

Opioids: 94 percent
Alcohol: 70 percent
Benzodiazepines: 65 percent
Methamphetamines: 57 percent
Cocaine: 57 percent
Other substances: 10 percent

Medical detox stats

Particularly for the drugs listed above, the use of medication can be very helpful in managing withdrawal symptoms, as well as reducing the urge to use/relapse as detox progresses. Although many detox centers offer some alternative treatment options, 88 percent of facilities that offer detox routinely used medications.

Relapse statistics and detox

Of the people who enter detox treatment nationally, only 33% complete treatment, and only about 17% are still sober after five years. Both numbers improve when detox is followed by a residential or outpatient treatment program.

Detox center licensing

A licensed detox center matters, because withdrawal from many of these drugs is genuinely dangerous. Below is how many facilities offering detox hold each type of license, accreditation or certification.

Outpatient detoxification

State substance use agency: 1,158
State mental health department: 553
State Department of Health: 771
Hospital licensing authority: 135
Joint Commission: 439
CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities): 694
NCQA (Council on Accreditation): 57
COA (Council on Accreditation): 93
HFAP (Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program): 17

Residential detoxification

State substance use agency: 937
State mental health department: 366
State Department of Health: 637
Hospital licensing authority: 62
Joint Commission: 434
CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities): 448
NCQA (Council on Accreditation): 14
COA (Council on Accreditation): 16
HFAP (Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program): 9

Hospital inpatient detoxification

State substance use agency: 410
State mental health department: 294
State Department of Health: 476
Hospital licensing authority: 338
Joint Commission: 532
CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities): 135
NCQA (Council on Accreditation): 42
COA (Council on Accreditation): 26
HFAP (Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program): 15

Opioid treatment programs and detox

Opioid detox is unpleasant whether the drug is synthetic, pharmaceutical or made illegally, and it is very common in South Florida. As listed above, 94% of treatment facilities that offer detox support opioid detox. The opioids people are most often addicted to include heroin, morphine, codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, methadone, tramadol and fentanyl. Of the centers running opioid treatment programs, 661 outpatient, 84 residential and 116 inpatient centers also offer detox on site.

Drug detox centers in Florida

There are 726 treatment facilities in Florida, and 78 offer outpatient detox, 79 offer residential detox and 56 offer inpatient detox. Pines Recovery Life is one of the few with residential detox. We are in Pembroke Pines, FL, and patients come to us from across the United States for detox treatment. After detox we do step-down planning with you. Call today to speak with our admissions team and learn more about our detox program.

Figures on this page come from the 2018 National Survey of Substance Use Treatment Services.

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