Prescription drug abuse has become a scourge in Missouri, and a statewide monitoring program is needed to address addiction and overdoses.
The Narcotics Control Act, sponsored by Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, was advanced last week by two House committees. The proposal would establish a prescription drug monitoring program to allow physicians and pharmacists to monitor the use of opioid painkillers.
The intent is to prevent patients from "doctor shopping" as a method to acquire more than the prescribed amount of addictive prescription drugs, including oxycodone and morphine.
A study last year by the federal Centers for Disease Control found about 75 percent of new heroin users first became hooked on prescription opiates. In many cases, heroin became more attractive because it was less expensive and more accessible.
"It's very important to address this now and not wait and allow people to die and more lives to be ruined," Rehder said. The intent, Rehder said, is to identify drug abuse early and respond with treatment rather than incarceration.
Missouri remains the only state in the nation that does not have a monitoring program.
A key concern is the privacy issue, voiced by Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph. He has an alternative proposal that would create a database through the Department of Health and Senior Services but wouldn't allow access by physicians and pharmacists.
We are sensitive to privacy concerns, but we have no quarrel with allowing physicians and pharmacists to have access to the database.
First, as the licensed professionals who prescribe and dispense the drugs, they already have access to the information. Second, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) prohibits them from disclosing patient information, and Rehder's proposal would make disclosure a felony.
Physicians and pharmacists don't want patients becoming addicts. Ron Fitzwater, CEO of the Missouri Pharmacy Association, told lawmakers: "Our pharmacists are just asking, "Give us the resources, help us set up a network that can help resolve this issue.'"
Intangible privacy concerns are vastly outweighed by the reality of patient addiction and fatal overdoses. We urge lawmakers to approve a prescription drug monitoring program as a practical solution to a festering problem.