Towards an Improved Substance Use Disorder Treatment Landscape in Rhode Island – Barriers, Current Progress, and Next Steps

Expanding addiction treatment services in Rhode Island has never been more urgent. Today, we face colliding syndemics of COVID-19, preventable drug overdoses, and HIV, with another year of record overdoses. While the treatment of substance use disorder (SUD) is an sential of general medical care, nu...

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Published inMedicine and health, Rhode Island Vol. 105; no. 3; pp. 24 - 27
Main Authors Braun, Hannan M, Holtzman, Juliette A, Wunsch, Caroline, Clark, Seth A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Providence Rhode Island Medical Society 01.04.2022
Subjects
Clinics
Drug use
Substance abuse treatment
Substance use disorder
Rhode Island
United States > US
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Summary:Expanding addiction treatment services in Rhode Island has never been more urgent. Today, we face colliding syndemics of COVID-19, preventable drug overdoses, and HIV, with another year of record overdoses. While the treatment of substance use disorder (SUD) is an sential of general medical care, numerous barriers prevent broader treatment access for patients in Rhode Island. Buprenorphine and methadone therapy have restrictions that are not applied to other areas in medicine, including for more dangerous medications. In this piece, we highlight existing barriers to care, applaud current progress being made in our state, and provide recommendations for next steps to turn the tide of this deadly epidemic. We hope that these proposed changes will help develop a robust treatment landscape for all patients with SUD in Rhode Island.
ISSN:2327-2228