Note: We update this information every month.
Note: Here we use data from Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and Rhode Island Dept of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH).
The number of Rhode Islanders on Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) is slowly declining
Buprenorphine/naloxone, naltrexone, and methadone are evidence-based treatments for opioid addiction (also called opioid use disorder). A key initiative under the Governor’s action plan is to increase the number of people accessing medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Learn more about our action plan to address addiction and overdose in Rhode Island.
Our main treatment strategy is to increase the number of people receiving medications for opioid use disorder each year.
The graphs below show us the change over time of methadone uptake among different populations of people in Rhode Island. In 2020, we see stable or declining methadone uptake among all groups following two years of growth. Learn more about medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder.
Buprenorphine treatment capacity in Rhode Island has more than doubled since 2014
As of the start of 2023, the DEA eliminated the requirement of the X-Waiver to treat Opioid Use Disorder. This change allows any physician or healthcare professional with a DEA license to prescribe buprenorphine. Due to this change, the graph below stops displaying data beyond December 2022.