Providers

Healthcare professionals can play a role in helping prevent overdose deaths in Rhode Island

The most important thing you can do is to follow the Rhode Island Department of Health guidelines on this page for safe prescribing every time you prescribe opioids. You can also find local and national resources for continuing education for providers and comprehensive care for patients.

RIDOH has developed two behavioral health resource guides for healthcare professionals, as well as individuals and families. These guides provide information on treatment, recovery, and harm reduction services available in Rhode Island. You can download, print, and share the guides to help refer patients and families to these resources.

Learn More

Pathways for Emergency Department Providers – Pathways provides training resources for healthcare professionals and offers technical support to all Rhode Island emergency departments.

Provider Education Resources – Find printable addiction and overdose publications and materials from The Rhode Island Department of Health.

Learn more about the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023

Removal of the DATA Waiver Requirement for Practitioners

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 has eliminated the federal requirement for practitioners to have a DATA waiver to prescribe medications, like buprenorphine, for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). The US Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently announced these important changes to the DATA Waiver Program.

  • Practitioners may now prescribe buprenorphine for OUD in their practice if permitted by applicable State law.
  • All prescriptions will only require a standard DEA registration number.
  • In addition, there will no longer be limits on the number of patients a prescriber may treat for OUD with buprenorphine.

In addition to the DATA waiver changes (under the MAT Act), the Consolidated Appropriations Act includes the MATE Act, which ensures that all DEA-controlled medication prescribers have a baseline knowledge of how to prevent addiction and how to identify, treat, and manage patients who have SUD. Specifically, the MATE Act requires all prescribers of federally controlled substances to complete eight hours of training on treating and managing patients with opioid use disorder and SUD. New training requirements for all prescribers will go into effect on June 21, 2023. The DEA and SAMHSA are currently working to provide further guidance.

What can I do?

The guidelines for prescribing were recently expanded. Practitioners who are eligible to prescribe buprenorphine under this revised guideline include physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and certified nurse midwives who are licensed under State law and possess a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration to prescribe controlled substances. Read more about the new buprenorphine prescribing guidelines.

If you’re interested in becoming qualified to prescribe buprenorphine, watch for new training requirements that will go into effect on June 21, 2023.

 

Several local and national resources are available to support healthcare providers who wish to expand buprenorphine prescribing practices. These resources include:

 

Use the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

 

RIDOH created the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) to help track the use of controlled substances in Rhode Island. It’s very important that you use the PDMP every time you prescribe opioids.

Prescribe and Dispense Safe with Naloxone

 

You can co-prescribe naloxone to any patient who has an opioid prescription —or anyone you think is at risk of experiencing or witnessing an opioid overdose. Increasing access to naloxone is one of the best tools we have for addressing Rhode Island’s opioid overdose epidemic and saving lives.

Start prescribing and educating your patients about naloxone today:

Know the Treatment Options

 

Part of being a responsible Healthcare Professional is making sure that you’re aware of all the treatment options available to your patients. Educate yourself about addiction treatment in Rhode Island:

Enroll your patients in CurrentCare RI

 

CurrentCare is a free service developed by the RI healthcare community. It’s a secure electronic network that gives certain doctors and nurses access to their patient’s health information across different types of healthcare facilities. CurrentCare can even send real-time Hospital Alerts to primary care providers if their patient is admitted to or discharged from an emergency department.

Refer your patients to Centers of Excellence

 

Centers of Excellence (COE) provide comprehensive evaluation, treatment for those needing specialized outpatient treatment. COE’s accept walk-ins or provider referrals and offer immediate, intensive medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) by clinical experts specializing in addiction medicine.

Multidisciplinary teams offering services ranging from:

Patient and family education programs, Psychiatric care, Social work, Recovery coaching, and Referrals to community resources

There are currently three organizations certified to operate COE’s in Rhode Island:

  • CODAC Behavioral Healthcare (with seven locations)
  • Lifespan Recovery Center in Providence
  • Community Care Alliance in Woonsocket
  • The Journey to Hope, Health, and Healing Clinic (with four locations)

Participate in a Virtual Continuing Medical Education

Continuing medical education (CME) courses are designed for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and residents and fellows in Rhode Island specializing in primary care, family medicine, general medicine, pediatrics, and emergency medicine. All courses are free of charge and can be counted toward the new Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act licensure training requirement. Access additional details on the one-time, eight-hour training requirement for all DEA-registered practitioners on the treatment and management of patients with opioid and other substance use disorders.

Learn about CDC Pathways for Emergency Department Providers

Pathways is a CDC-funded project that aims to enhance the current provision of post-overdose care in Rhode Island Emergency Departments (EDs) by providing various training resources for emergency health providers and nurses and offering technical support to each Emergency Department. Our Pathways page offers comprehensive tools and resources so medical providers can stay informed and best serve their patients.

More Resources
Education Resources

Check out our Patient & Prescriber Education Resources

Centers of Excellence

Have your health care facility certified as a Center of Excellence (COE).

Recovery Coach

Request a recovery coach for patients who have experienced an overdose.

Vivitrol

Register to be listed as a Vivitrol provider. Vivitrol is a prescription injectable medicine used to treat alcohol dependence and prevent relapse to opioid dependence after opioid detoxification.