Chronic Pain and Addiction Treatment in Rhode Island

How is chronic pain treated when someone also has a substance use disorder?

In Rhode Island, chronic pain alongside a substance use disorder is usually treated by pain and addiction clinicians working from one shared plan instead of two separate ones. Coordination means the teams know every medication a person takes, agree on who prescribes what, and talk before changing doses.

Physical dependence on a long-term prescription is not the same as a use disorder, and a good assessment separates the two. Choices about medicines and therapies sit with the clinicians and the patient together, whether that means buprenorphine, methadone, non-opioid medicines, physical therapy or psychological approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy.

Buprenorphine, which also has pain-relieving effects, can be started or continued through outpatient prescribers or the state’s 24/7 Buprenorphine Hotline at 401-606-5456. Methadone comes only from opioid treatment programs licensed by the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals.

Abruptly ending or steeply lowering a long-term opioid or benzodiazepine prescription can bring withdrawal, a return of severe pain and lower tolerance, so any taper belongs with the prescriber. Before starting, ask a program whether it treats pain and substance misuse together and whether it will coordinate with your current pain prescriber.

Can I keep getting pain treatment while in addiction treatment in Rhode Island?

Many people in Rhode Island continue pain care during addiction treatment, provided the pain prescriber and the addiction team stay in contact. Buprenorphine can be started or continued at Suboxone clinics in Rhode Island, and the state behavioral health department runs a 24/7 Buprenorphine Hotline, 401-606-5456, for telehealth starts.

Methadone is dispensed by opioid treatment programs licensed by the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH) under its behavioral healthcare organization rules; see methadone clinics in Rhode Island. Rhode Island Medicaid guidance says new patient telemedicine visits should generally include video, which matters if you plan to begin with telehealth treatment.

Is it safe to stop or reduce pain medication on my own?

Stopping or sharply cutting a long-term opioid or benzodiazepine prescription on your own can be dangerous, so any taper should be planned with the prescriber. Withdrawal, a return of severe pain and a lower tolerance can all follow a sudden stop. Benzodiazepines carry their own dependence risk, and taking them with opioids raises the risk of slowed breathing; benzodiazepine treatment in Rhode Island covers that combination.

Naloxone nasal spray is sold at Rhode Island pharmacies without a prescription, and residents can have free kits mailed through PreventOverdoseRI, an effort of the Governor’s Overdose Task Force with the state health and behavioral health departments. The Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention Act of 2016 offers certain legal protections to people who call for help. Expect a prescriber to review your controlled-substance history before writing a new prescription, and share your full medication list up front.

How do I pay for pain and addiction treatment in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island Medicaid, run by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, is the main public route, with managed care through RIteCare and Rhody Health Partners. Current plans include Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island and UnitedHealthcare of New England, whose contract covers behavioral health and substance use services. Call your plan to ask how it covers medication for opioid use disorder and each level of care, or start from programs accepting Medicaid.

Private plans generally must cover substance use care on terms comparable to other medical care under federal parity rules, and Rhode Island law requires commercial insurers to pay behavioral health telemedicine at in-person rates. People without coverage can ask about funding through BHDDH, the state’s single state agency, and browse state-funded rehab in Rhode Island.

What should I ask a Rhode Island program before starting?

Three questions sort out most Rhode Island programs quickly: does the program treat pain and substance use together, can it continue or start medication for opioid use disorder, and will it coordinate with your current pain prescriber? Ask too how it screens for depression or anxiety, since dual diagnosis care often overlaps with pain. Schedules matter when appointments for physical therapy continue, and an intensive outpatient program may fit around them.

Reading the listings

Each listing on this page notes, where available, pain and addiction or chronic pain services, medication options, levels of care, payment types, insurers, accreditation, languages, populations served and location. Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport is the nearest major airport for more than eight in ten of these programs, a median of 8.1 miles away. Every program sits within 25 miles of a river, a median of 1.6 miles, most often the Woonasquatucket River. For opioid-specific care, see opioid rehab in Rhode Island, and for background on this topic nationally, pain and addiction treatment.

Free places to start

BH Link offers a 24/7 call center and walk-in facility for Rhode Islanders 18 and older in a behavioral health crisis. Calling or texting 988 reaches the national crisis line at any hour, and the national treatment referral line can point you to local options. More services statewide are on the Rhode Island treatment page.