New York City to Restrict Prescription Painkillers in Public Hospitals’ Emergency Rooms

[cthulu2016]

8. You may be misunderstanding the issue.

Here in America we cannot buy any codeine OTC.

If you suffer a very bad sprain or a scalding burn or other very painful injury that doesn't require hospitalization and you go to the emergency room the doctor may well give you a small amount of some (effective) pills for the pain short term because you are in pain.

We are at the doctor's mercy for any strong pain relief.

And the idea that you could spill boiling water on your leg or something and go to the ER and can't walk out of the emergency room with a couple days of percocet or something, even if an ER doc thinks it reasonable, is rather nuts.