Janet Currie Denise Applewhite / Princeton University Office of Communications

In addition to physicians who studied at U.S. medical schools, Currie and Schnell looked at doctors practicing in this country who studied abroad. They discovered that physicians trained in the Canada and Caribbean were also quick to prescribe prescription opioids.

I think doctors in Canada and the Caribbean get training similar to the way they are trained in U.S. medical schools. They are taught to ask about pain and one of the things doctors are evaluated on is how they treat pain, Currie said. That puts lot of pressure on them to do something about patients pain.

But thats not the case the world over, she added.

Eastern European doctors were the least likely to prescribe opioids, Currie said.

Daniel Raymond of the

A doctor who works for a small practice often doesnt, he said. Then theres the fact that its easier to write a prescription than to talk to a patient about alternatives that dont involve risky pills.

Either way, the importance of studies like this if they validate calls for more professional pain management training in medical schools, he said.

The important thing is making these systems work for everybody, wherever they get their health care, said Raymond.

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Doctors From Top Medical Schools Prescribe Fewer Opioid Painkillers - NBCNews.com