(AP) – The Missouri Senate has passed a bill to create a
statewide prescription drug tracking program.
Senators voted 20-13 Thursday in favor of creating a database to track when
prescriptions for controlled substances are written and filled. The goal is to
prevent so-called doctor shopping, when people go to multiple doctors to get
prescriptions for opioid drugs and painkillers.
Missouri is the only state without a drug monitoring program.
The bill now moving to the House was proposed by a longtime critic of such
programs. Republican Sen. Rob Schaaf says his version has protections to address
privacy concerns.
The version passed by the Senate could cost more than $6.5 million in fiscal
year 2018. Schaaf says he’s working on changes to make it less expensive.
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