Authorities uncovered a so-called "medical shopping" case in which a person went from one medical institution to another to receive excessive and overlapping doses of propofol.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety asked investigators to look into 13 medical institutions and 13 recipients suspected of misusing propofol, and will implement a system starting on the 27th that allows doctors to check a patient's propofol administration history for the past year before prescribing.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety said on the 26th that, after reviewing suspected cases of propofol misuse last month, it requested investigations into 13 medical institutions and 13 recipients. It also asked local governments to take administrative action against 14 medical institutions that violated obligations to handle and report narcotics.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety inspected 23 medical institutions that administered propofol 13 times or more to a single person over the past year, along with 26 recipients. After comprehensively reviewing the number of administrations and reasons and conducting expert deliberations, it designated cases judged to have used propofol for non-work purposes as subjects for investigation.
The 13 recipients were found to have visited an average of six medical institutions over a year and to have received propofol an average of 29 times. Most stated reasons were skin procedures and plastic surgery.
As many instances of "medical shopping," in which people move among multiple medical institutions to receive repeated propofol administrations, were identified, the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety plans to strengthen related monitoring.
Accordingly, starting on the 27th, the "propofol administration history verification system" will also be implemented, allowing doctors to check a patient's administration history for the past year before prescribing propofol. This measure aims to prevent patients from visiting multiple hospitals to receive excessive and overlapping propofol administrations.
The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety said, "We will analyze narcotics administration data to strengthen checks not only on excessive and overlapping prescriptions by medical institutions but also on medical shopping."