Ria Health

Ria Health is a modern, telehealth-based program designed to help people reduce or quit drinking alcohol. It combines medical treatment, technology, and behavioral support to make recovery more accessible and private. Entirely app-based; members work with doctors, nurses, and coaches via smartphone. Members receive a wireless breathalyzer that syncs with the app to monitor progress. Ria Health supports both moderation and complete sobriety depending on the each member’s goals. 

www.riahealth.com  

Alcohol

Secular (Non-Meeting)

Ria Health was founded in 2016 in San Francisco, California, by Dr. John Mendelson (an addiction medicine specialist and researcher), along with a team of medical professionals and entrepreneurs. The founders recognized that traditional rehab and AA-style programs don’t work for everyone, especially people who wanted to cut back on drinking rather than quit completely, or those who couldn’t commit to inpatient stays. They set out to create a program that combined telemedicine, smartphone technology, and FDA-approved medications to provide a flexible, at-home alternative to rehab.

The program began as a mobile health startup offering app-based support for alcohol reduction. Central innovations included remote prescribing of anti-craving medications like naltrexone, connected breathalyzers to track alcohol use objectively, and the inclusion of coaching and behavioral therapy delivered entirely online.

Over the late 2010s, Ria Health expanded its services beyond California to other U.S. states, building a nationwide telehealth platform. Partnerships were formed with health insurers and employers, allowing some members to access treatment at reduced cost or fully covered. The program became increasingly recognized as part of the “digital health revolution” in addiction treatment, alongside companies like Monument, Workit Health, and Tempest.

Today, Ria Health operates across much of the United States. It offers personalized, data-driven care for alcohol use disorder (AUD), often as an alternative to traditional rehab or as continuing care after inpatient treatment.

Ria Health has no core text but instead offers a smartphone app that facilitates member guidance and monitoring. 

Entirely app-based; members work with doctors, nurses, and coaches via smartphone. Members receive a wireless breathalyzer that syncs with the app to monitor progress.

Prescriptions such as naltrexone, acamprosate, or gabapentin may be used to reduce cravings and alcohol’s rewarding effects.

Unlike abstinence-only programs, Ria supports both moderation and complete sobriety depending on the individual’s goals.

Members are paired with recovery coaches for weekly or biweekly video sessions, focusing on behavior change, coping strategies, and accountability.

Uses FDA-approved medications and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques.

Can be done entirely from home—no in-person clinic visits or group meetings required.

Ria Health does not offer traditional group meetings. Instead, members meet with recovery coaches on a weekly or biweekly basis.