It's very noble, and I am sure some doctors mean it when they express the sentiment, however to the acute and chronic pain sufferer who's running out of options and out of sympathetic physicians, this amounts to no more than sanctimonious piffle.

I have been in pain, and received zero sympathy and understanding myself, many times. I have been desperate, facing a pain doctor, who seemed to be more interested in humiliating me and making Best if kept off the board sure that I wouldn't get addicted on his watch than prescribing me opiates. He even played a little game with me, making me believe, towards the end of a humiliating three-hour grilling session in the nude and in the cold, that he was going to help me. As I left his office, in pain, he said he'd order me up a CT scan, and we'd go from there, but for now, no help. That office visit cost me $250.

What I am trying to say, through my anger, indignation and sadness, is that the prohibitive nature of pain medicine, the stigma, the embarrassment and the lack of sympathy from increasingly more physicians, are driving desperate people into the arms and clutches of money-hungry opportunists, less-than-legal institutions, and even out-and-out drugdealers.
Sorry, docs, that we sometimes don't seem to trust you, but we're forced into it. We know, because we're not idiots, that you don't want us mere mortal patients practicing medicine on ourselves, but your lack of empathy and action is just not helpful. You know, when it takes three weeks for a CAT scan, and you give me the impression that you might consider pain meds at the next appointment after that, MAYBE, well, you just don't seem all that keen on helping us. And the pain is something that's just there all the time, and we want it resolved sooner rather than later.

I realise doctors in the US are quite often just an extension of the DEA and the HMOs, so it's got to be an incredibly thankless task. But you got into the field because you wanted to help people, right? You put in thousands of hours, and tens of thousands of dollars to obtain that medical licence, then went into debt.

I know you don't want to risk it all, but shouldn't you also have some faith in yourself as a doctor, and be able to tell the law and the insurers that you can see that this person's in real pain and needs some help. Give the poor soul some percocet while he's waiting for the MRI.