In an opinion piece for NBC News, Dr. Jacquelyn Corley argues that to fix the opioid crisis, patients may have to suffer.
That's because 75 percent of people who abuse heroin now say they got their start abusing prescription drugs.
Dr. Corley designed a new protocol for pain management: Give opioids only to those who really need them, and in the smallest amounts possible.
Unfortunately, it makes patients less comfortable and harder for hospital staff to take care of them.