ST. LOUIS (AP) - The Latest on Missouri’s new prescription drug monitoring program (all times local):
3 p.m.
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ surprise announcement of a new prescription drug monitoring program is drawing skepticism from some on both sides of the debate.
The Republican governor signed an executive order Monday in St. Louis. Missouri had been the last state without a program tracking prescription drugs as part of the effort to curb opioid abuse.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill says the Greitens program doesn’t go far enough because doctors and pharmacists won’t have access to the database. Democratic state Rep. Lauren Arthur of Kansas City was critical that lawmakers had no input.
Reaction from Republican lawmakers was mixed. State Rep. Kurt Bahr of St. Charles questions whether the governor has legal authority for the executive order. State Sen. Will Kraus of Lee’s Summit says he’ll support the program, as long it doesn’t track law-abiding citizens.
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11:15 a.m.
Missouri is no longer the only state without a prescription drug monitoring program.
Republican Gov. Eric Greitens on Monday signed an executive order establishing a drug monitoring program that will focus on those prescribing the drugs and filling the prescriptions.
The announcement was made at Express Scripts, a suburban St. Louis based pharmaceutical provider. The company will be a private-sector partner in the state program.
Greitens says the state’s approach could potentially become a national model.
Missouri lawmakers for years have considered a drug monitoring program to combat doctor shopping and prescription opioid addiction. But efforts have until now failed, largely because of privacy concerns about keeping medical information in a database.
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