Starting medication for opioid use disorder prior to prison release substantially reduces overdose deaths

Individuals with opioid use disorder being released from prison are at particularly high risk for fatal overdose, yet virtually no U.S. correctional facilities initiate or continue medications for addiction treatment that would protect people against overdose following release from prison. This study explored whether a novel program in the state of Rhode Island that continued inmates’ opioid use disorder medications led to decreased drug overdoses.