E.R. & Opiates | Aging Matters | NPT

Opioid "pill shopping" by people who are addicted or trying to obtain drugs to sell illegally is causing some emergency departments to revise their protocols for prescribing narcotic pain relievers. With mounting evidence that non-narcotic drugs can effectively relieve pain better than opiates in many cases, some hospitals like St. Thomas Midtown have drastically reduced their usage of opiates.