Mo. the only state without prescription drug database

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - One Johnson County woman's shocking prescription drug abuse highlights the information Missouri pharmacies don't have.

"It's remarkable, this is a full-time job," said Robert Twillman. He is a part of K-TRACS, the organization running the database that tracks prescription drugs in Kansas. There's no counterpart across the state line.

Spreading several sheets of paper across his coffee table, Twillman showed the more than 80 prescriptions for pain killers one woman filled at more than sixty different Kansas pharmacies.

"She has seen two to three times as many dentists as she has teeth," he said.

Twillman said some of her prescriptions came from Missouri doctors, and that list is likely only half of her story.

"When you look at all the programs that all the states have, Missouri has a big bulls eye," he stated.

Twillman said Missouri is the only state without a prescription drug database, and that lawmakers are currently considering a bill to create one. Twillman said it was defeated last year.

Opponents have privacy concerns over such sensitive medical information being centralized.

Twillman said only medical professionals would have access such as doctors and pharmacists. Law enforcement officials can already demand those records.