Missouri became the final state to implement a prescription drug monitoring program after Gov. Eric Greitens created one through an executive order July 17, reports The Kansas City Star.
The order directs the state's Department of Health and Senior Services to contract with and use prescriber data from pharmacy benefits managers — who work with insurers to keep prescription prices low — as it builds the database. The order also instructs pharmacies to report to the state when they dispense controlled substances.
The order did not specify whether physicians and pharmacists will be able to access the database as they fill prescriptions. Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., is calling for a stronger law, encouraging the state to grant "law enforcement, pharmacies and doctors the tools they need" to fight the opioid problem.
"While I certainly welcome the governor's attention to this crisis, I have serious questions about how meaningful this action will be if doctors writing prescriptions — and pharmacists filling those prescriptions — don't have access to this database," Ms. McCaskill said in a statement to The Kansas City Star.
Senate Republicans opposing the PDMP are worried the mandate infringes on privacy of law-abiding citizens. These lawmakers are reviewing the constitutionality of Mr. Greitens's order.
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