Gov. Greitens Calls for Special Legislative Session to Begin TODAY at 4 p.m.
Governor Eric Greitens has officially declared a Special Session to begin today at 4 p.m. In his official proclamation, the Governor specifically states two priority issues the session will address, PLUS "additional matters..." which we are assuming will be the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP).
Should the PDMP be brought up during this Special Session, it is anticipated that legislators will (unfortunately) take up where they left off on the less than desirable PDMP legislation they were considering when the regular session ended.
MAOPS has been working hard over the entire 2017 Legislative Session to stave off a PDMP that would be punitive and potentially costly for physicians. As it stood on the last day of session, the PDMP would mandate physician use with few exceptions. MAOPS opposes this version of the bill and asks that you contact your Representative and Senator today and let them know why you support HB 90 as originally presented, and not the Senate Substitute they were considering:
Mandated physician use would mean physician licenses could be open to sanctions and civil liability if they did not check the database, even when not appropriate like hospital admissions, direct drug administration to the patient, and every ER visit.
It excludes stimulants, depressants and other Schedule II-IV drugs from the database, and includes only opioids and benzos.
County programs which just began last month are in jeopardy (see information on St. Louis County PDMP below). This bill would override them, and currently they are a better option than the Senate proposal considered last week.
Please contact your Representative and Senator today to ask them to refrain from passing an ineffective bill for the sake of saying “Missouri has a PDMP.”
The MAOPS Legislative Team is your advocate at the Capitol. We will be monitoring this Special Session, and will keep you updated on any actions taken that could positively or negatively affect you, your patients and/or your practice. Please check your email frequently for updates from MAOPS.
Read the Governor's Official Proclamation byclicking here.
The St. Louis County Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) launched on April 25, 2017. MAOPS has posted the PDMP presentation, checklist and registration information for member access on our website. However you can access the information by clicking the blue bars below.
Five topics that may have prompted the Governor to call a special session
The Missouri Times reports five topics that may have prompted Gov. Eric Greitens to call a Special Session. Included in the five are Rep. Holly Rehder's efforts to get a suitable PDMP passed through the Legislature, and Tort Reform.
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