Mo. Senate panel mulls Rx drug database again

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Missouri Senate's only physician and its lone pharmacist are proposing creation of a database of prescription opiates and painkillers.

But the physician wants voters to approve the measure, while the pharmacist wants the Legislature to do so.

Sen. Rob Schaaf, a physician from St. Joseph, told a Senate panel Thursday that voters should decide if they want to give up privacy rights. Schaaf opposed a similar measure last year and says he still isn't comfortable with a government database of drug prescriptions.

But Sen. David Sater, a pharmacist from Cassville, says doctors could check the database before writing prescriptions, keeping drug addicts from "doctor-shopping" to keep them supplied.

Missouri is the only state without legislation for a drug database. The committee did not vote on either proposal.

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Prescription database is SB146 and SB233

Online:

Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov