It's not like there is a machine or a blood test you can use to find out the person is experiencing "37.3 pain". The 'protocols' you refer to will necessarily r

It's not like there is a machine or a blood test you can use to find out the person is experiencing "37.3 pain". The 'protocols' you refer to will necessarily require a subjective evaluation of the pain the patient is experiencing (as well as assessing other social factors that may point to a higher risk of abuse). There are people who will call the ambulance or show up at the ER, claiming pain, when in fact they are 'simply' looking for drugs to meet their addiction. The only person who knows how much pain the patient is actually experiencing is the patient themself. However, blindly relying on them to accurately report that level pain is simply not an option, given the potential for abuse.