---
title: "What is doctor shopping and is it a crime in Rhode Island?"
description: "Doctor shopping means visiting multiple doctors to obtain overlapping prescriptions for the same controlled drug without telling each provider about the others. Rhode Island treats it as a form of..."
url: https://bankandmunns.com/faq-items/what-is-doctor-shopping-and-is-it-a-crime-in-rhode-island/
date: 2026-07-26
modified: 2026-07-26
author: "Bank and Munns"
type: avada_faq
lang: en
---

# What is doctor shopping and is it a crime in Rhode Island?

Doctor shopping means visiting multiple doctors to obtain overlapping prescriptions for the same controlled drug without telling each provider about the others. Rhode Island treats it as a form of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or misrepresentation, which is a criminal offense. Prescription monitoring data is often the state's main evidence, and a lawyer can challenge how that data is interpreted.