JEFFERSON CITY —For several years, members of the Missouri General Assembly have filed legislation regarding the numerous opioid and drug-related deaths across our state. I also believe there is a need to take action against this epidemic, but a statewide prescription drug monitoring program is not the solution to our problem.
Approved by Missouri House of Representatives, House Bill 188 aims to implement a statewide Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. The proposal could be discussed in a Senate Committee as early as next week. While I understand what the bill is trying to accomplish, I am opposed to this legislation for several reasons.
Supporters of the statewide prescription drug monitoring program like to emphasize the fact that Missouri is the only state in the country without a PDMP. This is true, but when comparing state by state, the data clearly demonstrates that over twenty other states with PDMPs are still substantially worse off than Missouri in terms of curbing the effects of opioid abuse. For example, the state of Florida recently implemented a PDMP in 2011 and have seen a decrease in the abuse of prescribed drugs such as oxycodone, but have concurrently seen an exponential spike in the use of other opioids and heroin. Since 2012, heroin admissions have increased from 2,003 to 8,114 in 2017, a 305 percent increase.
I am also opposed to HB 188 because our cyber infrastructure needs updating to be secure. Without making the necessary security upgrades, thousands of Missourians personal information could be at risk of a cybersecurity breach. In 2009, Virginia had to shut down their prescription database in the wake of a cybersecurity breach of 35 million prescription records. In the event of a data breach, it can be quite difficult to recover from the damage. With this is mind, protecting Missourians should be our No. 1 priority.
Officials estimate that a statewide program would cost Missouri’s taxpayers more than $1 million. In spite of the good intentions of so many politicians in Jefferson City, I refuse to endorse a program that costs the people of Northeast Missouri over a million dollars a year for a program that does not work and is implemented by a computer network that requires much needed security upgrades. When our elected officials get serious about this problem, we will be able to work together to provide a serious plan that will work.
As always, I appreciate hearing your comments, opinions and concerns. Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at (573) 751-7985. You may also email me at cindy.olaughlin@senate.mo.gov.
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