The nation’s drug czar was in Fenton Wednesday highlighting the fact that Missouri does not have a prescription drug monitoring program.
It’s the only state in the US without a tracking system or that hasn’t passed legislation to create one.
National Drug Control Policy director Gil Kerlikowske says it’s a good way to identify patients who are "doctor shopping."
"So that physician or people in that physician’s office can know that this person has been going to other doctors and receiving other prescriptions," Kerlikowske said. "Licensing boards can take a look and see if there’s a prescriber who has been over-prescribing and that’s the real value of these systems."
In Missouri, Republican Senator Rob Schaaf filibustered efforts to pass a prescription tracking bill citing privacy concerns.
Kerlikowske says the state can design a program that protects individual’s privacy.
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