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Substance Use Disorder Assessment, Treatment, and Recovery Information

How to Refer Your Patient to Treatment and Recovery Services

Rhode Island offers a variety of behavioral health resources and services for people experiencing mental health and/or substance use conditions. Clinicians are encouraged to use the listing below to refer patients and/or clients of all ages (from children to adults) to services ranging from immediate crisis counseling and detoxification to ongoing substance use treatment.

Additionally, 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. 

What Healthcare Professionals Can Do

Refer Patients to Immediate Behavioral Health Services

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Patients or clients or their loved ones who are experiencing emotional distress or thoughts of suicide can call or text 988 or chat with 988 at 988lifeline.org to connect with a trained crisis counselor for support.

BH Link

For adults, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org/chat to reach BH Link.

Providers wishing to make a referral to BH Link can call 401-437-4884. BH Link is a behavioral health facility designed to provide immediate assistance to a person in crisis by providing innovative crisis intervention services and connecting people to ongoing treatment and care. In addition, the BH Link Triage Center, located at 975 Waterman Ave., East Providence, is a 24/7 community-based, walk-in/drop-off facility where clinicians connect people to immediate, stabilizing emergency behavioral health services, and long-term care and recovery supports.

Buprenorphine Hotline

Call Rhode Island’s Buprenorphine 24/7 Hotline, 401-606-5456. People with moderate to severe opioid use disorder (OUD) can access immediate telehealth services for initiation of buprenorphine treatment 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Kids’ Link RI

For children and youth younger than age 18, call the Kids’ Link Hotline at 1-855-543-5465. Kids’ Link RI is a behavioral health triage service and referral network. The program is offered in collaboration with Gateway Healthcare, Lifespan, Hasbro Children's Hospital and Bradley Hospital. Kids’ Link RI is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help triage children and youth in need of mental health services and refer them to treatment providers.

Rhode Island Maternal Psychiatry Resource Network (RI MomsPRN)

For pregnant and post-partum people, providers can call RI MomsPRN at 401-430-2800 or email RIMomsPRN@CareNE.org to get connected to free psychiatric telephone consultation screening resources.

Refer Patients to Substance Use Treatment Providers

The Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals (BHDDH) offers a list of licensed substance use treatment providers, including detoxification services, outpatient treatment, and opioid treatment providers.

Local treatment and recovery support services are also available on PreventOverdoseRI.org's Get Help webpage. The webpage offers an interactive map with available statewide treatment and peer support services.

Healthcare providers are encouraged to use this Recovery Referral Form when referring patients to a substance use treatment provider.

Refer Undocumented, Uninsured, or Underinsured Individuals to State-Contracted Treatment Providers

Substance use treatment is available in Rhode Island for patients who are undocumented, uninsured, or underinsured. Funding for medical detoxification, respite care, residential, and opioid treatment is available at no cost to qualifying, eligible individuals.

Substance use disorder (SUD) detoxification

SUD detoxification includes medically monitored, intensive inpatient services and withdrawal management for adults. This level of care provides 24-hour nursing services with a physician’s availability for significant support services. Note: This level of care is intended for individuals who are not in need of hospitalization.

Zinnia Healing Exeter
251 Main St., Exeter, RI
401-295-0960

AdCare Rhode Island
1950 Tower Hill Rd., North Kingstown, RI
401-294-6160

SUD Respite Services

Emergency respite care is available to adults seeking immediate treatment for cocaine or opioid use disorder. Eligible individuals do not require inpatient medical detoxification; however, stabilization may be required prior to admittance into a residential program. In addition, those who are on a waitlist for further treatment may require a structured, supervised setting to prevent relapse. Direct referrals can be made from any emergency department or inpatient unit, such as Community Care Alliance (CCA) emergency services, HOPE Intensive Outpatient Services (IOP), and BH LINK.

Community Care Alliance
800 Clinton St., Woonsocket, RI
401-295-5979

Opioid Treatment Programs (OTP)

Rhode Island-based OTP facilities offer treatment options for opioid use disorder, using medicines like buprenorphine, naltrexone, or methadone, along with behavioral therapy to treat substance use disorder. Refer patients to PreventOverdoseRI.org's Get Help webpage to find an OTP.

Refer Patients to Treatment Outside of Rhode Island

Providers can find treatment facilities by visiting Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)’s Find Treatment webpage and interactive map, or by calling 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Refer Patients to Recovery Housing

Rhode Island offers a variety of recovery housing options to people recovering from a substance use condition. Recovery houses offer alcohol- and drug-free living environments and function as supportive dwellings; they do not provide rehabilitation, treatment, supervision, or dispensing or management of medications. Find out which recovery houses have openings.

Each recovery housing location offers a different service, such as stabilization following withdrawal from alcohol, opioids, and other substances or psychiatric care. Use this locator to find out where there are open beds in the state.

Refer Patients to Ongoing Treatment and Recovery Support Services

For adult patients, there are many places across the state to start or maintain recovery. This includes getting support from others with lived experience, finding a support group, and/or getting help for basic needs like housing, financial literacy classes, health and wellness, and more.

For youth and young adults, Seven Challenges offers a comprehensive counseling program for individuals age 12 to 25 who have a substance use condition. This program is designed to motivate individuals to evaluate their lives, consider changes they may wish to make, and implement these changes toward desired outcomes. Program settings include a school or home, community health site, and outpatient services as well as a group home.

For pregnant people who use substances or substance-exposed newborns, there are several local resources that offer support:

  • RI MomsPRN - This is a free psychiatric telephone consultation resource for healthcare providers who treat pregnant and postpartum people. Healthcare providers can call 401-430-2800 or email RIMomsPRN@CareNE.org Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to be connected to perinatal specialists in real-time.
  • Family Visiting Program - This program provides prenatal support and services for infants and toddlers, including connecting to other families and available resources. To learn more or get connected, providers can call 401-222-5960.

Refer Patients to Local Harm Reduction Services

PreventOverdoseRI.org’s Safer Drug Use Practices webpage outlines specific actions that you can recommend to your patients to help them use drugs more safely. It includes resources in the community where they can go to access sterile syringes, safer smoking kits, fentanyl test strips, naloxone, and other harm reduction supplies, as well as harm reduction education to prevent overdose and infection.

Prescribe Naloxone

Consider prescribing naloxone to patients who use drugs or who have a family member who uses. While naloxone can currently be obtained from any pharmacy with or without a prescription and from community agencies, vending machines, and other sources, it is very important that they have naloxone on hand in the event of an overdose.  Visit Prevent Overdose RI for information on how and where to get naloxone.  (Note: By fall 2023, naloxone will also be available for over-the-counter purchase.)

Refer Patients to Specialized Wound Care Services

If your patient has a wound that won’t heal or appears to be getting worse, they might need to seek out advanced care. This list offers information on Rhode Island-based hospital programs that specialize in wound care treatment.

When Treating or Managing Care for Patients With Opioid Use Disorder

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) reminds Rhode Island prescribers of the US Congress’ new one-time requirement that went into effect on June 27, 2023, requiring any new or renewing Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)-registered practitioners, with the exception of veterinarians, to complete at least eight hours of education on the treatment or management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorder. Any new or renewing DEA registrants, upon submission of their application, are required to fulfill at least one of the following:

  • A total of eight hours of training from certain organizations* on opioid or other substance use disorders for practitioners renewing or newly applying for a registration from the DEA to prescribe any Schedule II-V controlled medications; or
  • Board certification in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry from the American Board of Medical Specialties, American Board of Addiction Medicine, or the American Osteopathic Association; or
  • Graduation within five years and status in good standing from a medical, advanced practice nursing, or physician assistant school in the US that included successful completion of an opioid or other substance use disorder curriculum of at least eight hours.

Prescribers can fulfill the requirement with the completion of a single, eight-hour course or multiple courses or activities totaling eight hours.

DEA-registered and new medical practitioners must fulfill this new training requirement before starting the process of renewing or completing an initial DEA registration.

The following is a list of organizations that offer educational opportunities meeting the training requirement:

The following is a list of courses that meet the new training requirements (hover on each Tool tip icon for a course's description).

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