Longitudinal trends in hospital admissions with co-occurring alcohol/drug diagnoses, 1994–2002Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment Volume 35, Issue 1, July 2008, Pages 1-12
In this observational study, longitudinal trends (1994–2002) in hospital admissions with co-occurring alcohol/drug abuse and addiction (ADAA; N = 43,073) were examined to determine prevalence and hospital costs by payer group and type of drug used.
Four primary drug types were reported: 49% used a combination of two or more drugs, 25% used alcohol only, 11.8% used opioids only, and 6.5% used cocaine only. Costs of admissions increased significantly for those using two or more drugs (119%, from US$12.7 to US$27.8 million), alcohol (120%, from US$9 to US$19.8 million), and opioids (482%, from US$1.7 to US$9.9 million).
Medicaid/Medicare represented 70% of the overall number of admissions and also paid 70% of hospital costs. Among Medicaid/Medicare and uninsured admissions, illicit drug use was more common, whereas among private payer admissions, alcohol abuse was more common.
Hospital admissions with co-occurring ADAA must be considered when estimating the scope of ADAA and its financial burden.
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