Yesterday, Governor Eric Greitens signed an executive order directing the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to begin work creating a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Through partnerships with private sector leaders, the state will be able to monitor prescribers and dispensers to find and eliminate bad actors in the system. Associated Industries of Missouri supported the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program bill that was stalled in the 2017 session.
“We need to be honest and clear about the scale of what we are up against: Opioids are a modern plague,” said Governor Greitens. “Like the plague, opioids kill the young, the old, the healthy, the sick, the virtuous and the sinful. There’s not a corner of our state that hasn’t been visited by this curse. There is no single program, or law, or executive order that can fix this crisis. This program is a step—and it’s a big step. Throughout this week, we will outline the other steps we will take to address the opioid crisis. The only thing we won’t do is wait. We won’t wait for this problem to get worse. That’s not an option.”
To find out more and read the Text of Executive Order 17-18, click here.