In July, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed legislation
that would prohibit prescribers from prescribing more than a seven-day supply
of opioids for the treatment of acute pain. The legislation creates exceptions
to the limitation for specified conditions and also allows a practitioner to
prescribe more than a seven-day supply if it is determined to be medically
necessary and the practitioner notes the condition triggering such necessity.
Similar state laws first appeared in 2016 and have been
quickly adopted by numerous states. With the addition of Missouri, at
least 29 states now place some type of limitation on the amount of
opioids that may be prescribed for the treatment of acute pain.