What's the purpose of the Percocet pill?

Percocet is an opioid analgesic which a doctor can prescribe to a patient who needs somethng stronger to relieve their pain, other than over the counter pain meds (i.e. Tylenol, Advil and Aspirin). Percocet works best when used for a short period of time (such as after a surgical precedure, for example). However it can be taken long-term but then the patient must deal with dependence problems due to developing tolerance to Percocet.