ST. LOUIS (AP) – The long-futile effort seeking a statewide prescription drug monitoring program in Missouri now has a prominent advocate–Gov. Mike Parsons.
The Republican governor met Wednesday with St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, doctors and other health leaders to discuss ways to combat the lingering opioid epidemic. Parsons made it clear at a news conference that high on his priority list is ending Missouri’s status as the only state without a prescription drug monitoring program.
Parsons says he hopes to have a bill on his desk by the end of next year’s legislative session.
Prescription drug monitoring programs allow doctors and pharmacists to track a patient’s prescription history. The goal is to prevent “doctor shopping,” where opioid abusers go from doctor to doctor to get new drugs to feed their addictions.
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