A Missouri lawmaker is pushing for a program that would track prescription drugs and let doctors and pharmacists know when similar prescriptions for potentially addictive drugs have been filled.
A bill by GOP Rep. Holly Rehder is on the House debate calendar this week. Part of its goal is to stop abuse by so-called doctor shoppers trying to resell the drugs or feed their own addictions.
Similar measures have failed for more than a decade in Missouri's General Assembly because of privacy concerns. But this year, the proposed prescription drug monitoring program has the backing of Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Rehder's bill likely will face challenges in the Senate if it passes out of the House.
