JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri House has passed legislation creating an electronic database to track prescription drug purchases. But the bill faces opposition in the Senate.
The bill would direct the department of health to set up the database but would require funding to come from private donations. Supporters say the database could prevent cases of doctor shopping and drug abuse. They point to instances in which people are getting prescriptions from multiple doctors to feed addictions or sell the drugs on the black market.
House members passed the legislation 143-6 Thursday. But a similar bill ran into a threatened filibuster earlier this week in the Senate, where some members described it as an infringement on liberty.
Missouri and New Hampshire are the only states without laws authorizing prescription databases.
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Prescription bill is HB1193.
Online:
Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov