New Resources Announced for Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
Jim Braibish • January 24, 2020
The St. Louis County Department of Public Health has announced two important enhancements to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) that covers much of Missouri including Jackson, Clay and Cass counties in the Kansas City area:
- Prescribing Summaries will now be sent quarterly to providers in the Missouri jurisdictions covered by the PDMP. The Prescribing Summary breaks down the provider’s prescribing activity and compares it to one’s peers. Summaries are meant to help providers assess their own practice and will not be shared with employers or the public. Any physician, dentist, optometrist or podiatrist who practices in a participating PDMP jurisdiction and has written at least 15 prescriptions for controlled substances in the last quarter will receive a Prescribing Summary. Providers with PDMP accounts will receive their summary online within the PDMP; summaries will be mailed to providers without PDMP accounts. See the Prescribing Summary Packet for more information.
- Opioid Prescribing and Pain Management Toolbox
is a
new centralized opioid resource for providers who are prescribing opioids and /or treating patients with pain. The toolbox contains information across six key areas of opioid management: 1) building a supportive patient-provider relationship, 2) screening and assessment, 3) safer prescribing, 4) harm reduction, 5) treatment across health care settings, and 6) training and educational opportunities. Each section highlights evidence-based practices and guidelines to help health care providers deliver compassionate, clinically appropriate pain management and opioid use disorder treatment. Access the provider toolbox
The St. Louis County Prescription Drug Monitoring Program was launched in 2017 in the absence of a statewide prescription drug monitoring program. Currently, 75 city and county jurisdictions participate in the PDMP, representing 85% of the state population and 94% of health care providers. Besides Kansas City and St. Louis, other larger Missouri cities represented in the program include Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Jefferson City, Joplin, Springfield and St. Joseph. Leading the creation of the PDMP was UMKC School of Medicine alum and anesthesiologist Sam Page, MD, who is now the county executive of St. Louis County.
Missouri is the only state without a prescription drug monitoring program; legislation again has been introduced this year in both houses of the Missouri General Assembly.
As we finish 2025, I am humbled and honored to be your incoming Kansas City Medical Society president. I want to thank Dr. Sarah Hon for her leadership and mentorship over the past year, and our executive director, Micah Flint, for his administrative support. Our medical society began with the Jackson County Medical Society in 1881, later merging with Wyandotte and Johnson County Medical Societies to become the bi-state Kansas City Medical Society in 2018. We have led health initiatives including Tobacco 21 legislation, Medicaid expansion, the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis, and physician wellness. Our society is currently advocating for a speaker’s bureau, promoting suicide awareness at our local hospitals each fall, and leading vaccine education efforts in our community. As we move into 2026, our healthcare environment continues to change rapidly. With new medications and procedures, hospital mergers, EMRs, AI, scope-of-practice changes, hospitalists, and the rise of employed physicians, there are many challenges but also opportunities to lead in our healthcare communities. We must support one another to thrive and flourish. I ask that you stay involved and active in our organization as we plan networking and CME activities for 2026. Continue reaching out to colleagues as we learn from one another.
I consider it a sincere honor to serve as president of the Kansas City Medical Society this year. As we look forward to this new year, we celebrate our previous accomplishments and look for new ways to meet the challenges of our ever-changing healthcare environment. As we recognize our recent successes, I want to take the opportunity to thank Dr. Greg Unruh, our immediate past president, for his excellent leadership, and I look forward to his continued partnership, providing much-needed wisdom and experience to our board of directors as well as a leadership council. I am also deeply appreciative of Micah Flint, our executive director, now in his third year with the Society. As a board, we are prioritizing key areas where we believe the Society can make a difference for physicians and the communities we serve. With this in mind, we will continue our focus on wellness, advocacy, and expand our opportunities for in person social and educational gatherings. Our journal connects us in a variety of valuable ways, and we will continue its publication and expand its distribution. Under the directorship of Karole Bradford, the Society’s Foundation continues to do invaluable work. We celebrate those accomplishments and the charitable care they provide to our community’s vulnerable population. We are grateful for our individual members and corporate sponsors and welcome your suggestions of how the Society can best serve physicians and our community. Please mark your calendar for the Society’s upcoming events and consider inviting physician colleagues to join you as we gather to learn and support one another.
Kansas City area hospitals turn out for Physician Suicide Awareness Day: September 17th, 2024
