After years of advocacy, pharmaceutical firms and a growing number of medical schools have embraced an alternative to prescribing opioids for pain relief. They say the new treatment called precision medicine aims to treat the underlying pain. For years, pharmaceutical firms and a growing number of medical schools have embraced an alternative to prescribing opioids for pain relief. They say the new treatment aims to treat the underlying pain. But a growing number of experts in pain management and addiction say this treatment is not as effective as drugs.