In short, yes OPM can prescribe opioids but our priority is to figure out what hurts and why so that our patients do NOT need pain pills. The majority of patients who come to see us are not taking any kind of long term opioid medications. Opioids have gotten a lot of attention in the media in the last decade and we are all aware of the epidemic they have placed on our Nation. The story lines of addiction, over dose and over prescribing have long been the focus but the most important fact for you as the patient is this; opioids are NOT an effective treatment for long term pain control. We know this because there have been numerous studies showing patients having pain being broken into two groups; one receiving opioids and the other receiving different types of pain medications and sometimes even placebos. The results of these studies have been consistent over the past decade. Patients receiving opioids report lower pain scores for the first few weeks but as their bodies become more resistant to the medication the pain scores end up right where they started. In spite of our successful treatment options and poor evidence for long term opioid management there are the specific circumstances in which low dose opioids can provide some improvement in function.