A pharmacist speaks with a customer at Walmart Neighborhood Market in Bentonville, Ark., in 2014. On Monday Walmart introduced a new set of guidelines for dispensing opioid medications. Sarah Bentham/AP hide caption
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The HHS inspector general found that some 22,000 Medicare Part D beneficiaries seem to be doctor shopping for opioids — obtaining large amounts prescribed by four or more doctors and filled at four or more pharmacies. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
A test strip designed to help doctors check a patient's urine for fentanyl is being distributed in the Bronx to encourage users of heroin or other opioids to check what's in their syringe before they inject. Mary Harris/WNYC hide caption
An Experiment Helps Heroin Users Test Their Street Drugs For Fentanyl
A doctor at a Boston Medical Center clinic counsels a patient who has become addicted to opioid painkillers, and wants help kicking the habit. Addiction specialists say drugs like suboxone, which mitigates withdrawal symptoms, can greatly improve his odds of success. Suzanne Kreiter/Boston Globe via Getty Images hide caption
Melissa Morris outside her home in Sterling, Colo. She quit using heroin in 2012, and now relies on the drug Suboxone to stay clean. She's also been helping to find treatment for some of the neighbors she used to sell drugs to. Luke Runyon/Harvest Public Media hide caption
Rural Colorado's Opioid Connections Might Hold Clues To Better Treatment
A young boy talks with Tina Cloer, director of the Children's Bureau, in Indianapolis. The nonprofit shelter takes in children from the state's Department of Child Services when a suitable foster family can't be found. Cloer says the average length of stay at the shelter has increased from two days to 10 in 2015. Jake Harper/Side Effects Public Media hide caption
Heroin, Opioid Abuse Put Extra Strain On U.S. Foster Care System
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Sales of prescription opioid painkillers have quadrupled since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rich Pedroncelli/AP hide caption
Maine Bill Aims To Make Abuse-Deterrent Painkillers More Affordable
Bryan McDonel and his father, Mike, both served multiple tours in Iraq with the National Guard. Bryan was first prescribed painkillers before his deployment, and his dependence on medication prompted a downward spiral. Quil Lawrence/NPR hide caption
A Growing Number Of Veterans Struggles To Quit Powerful Painkillers
A pharmacy technician counts generic Vicodin tablets at Oklahoma Hospital Discount Pharmacy in Edmond, Okla. Sue Ogrocki/AP hide caption