CHANGWON — A doctor in South Gyeongsang Province has been arrested on charges of writing fake prescriptions in patients' names to divert propofol and then using the drug habitually. Four others were also booked without detention — two nursing assistants and an acquaintance who allegedly helped administer the drug, as well as a patient who obtained propofol injections at multiple hospitals.
The narcotics crime investigation unit of the South Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency's metropolitan investigation team said on the 6th that it had arrested a doctor in his 50s, identified as A, on charges of violating the Act on the Control of Narcotics, and had referred four others — two nursing assistants, an acquaintance and a patient — to prosecutors last month without detention.
A is accused of habitually administering propofol, a medical narcotic, to himself at the hospital he operates from November last year through June this year. Investigators found that he diverted the drug by writing fake prescriptions in the names of patients who did not need them, or by inflating recorded dosages, in order to make his own consumption match hospital records.
Police also found indications that A used the personal details of 33 foreign patients, who are harder to trace, to write falsified prescriptions.
After analyzing the hospital's medical records and narcotics inventory data, police concluded that about 28,380 mg of propofol — enough for some 560 sedation endoscopies — could not be accounted for as legitimate medical use, and that most of it had been administered.
Two nursing assistants at the hospital and an acquaintance were found to have taken part in administering the drug to A. The nursing assistants gave A propofol during hospital working hours, while the acquaintance helped after hours, according to the investigation.
Based on statements from hospital staff, police also found indications that A used propofol in a bedroom and other areas inside the hospital while patients were present for treatment.
A has partially denied the allegations regarding the number of times A used propofol and the quantities involved, according to police.
The patient referred to prosecutors alongside A, identified as B, is accused of habitually obtaining propofol injections by going from hospital to hospital in what is known as "doctor shopping."
B received a total of 10,980 mg of propofol at 11 medical institutions in South Gyeongsang Province, including A's hospital, between January and June this year. In some cases, B visited several hospitals in a single day and received as many as about 10 vials, the investigation found.
Police launched the investigation after receiving a tip and confirmed the alleged offenses by analyzing the hospitals' medical records and narcotics inventory data.
To prevent B from reoffending and to support a return to society, police plan to arrange treatment and rehabilitation in cooperation with the Korea Association Against Drug Abuse.
Police will also continue investigating the other medical institutions that administered propofol to B to determine whether the prescriptions and injections were appropriate.
"Medical narcotics such as propofol are also highly addictive and habit-forming, so active reporting and cooperation are needed against illegal use and distribution," an official at the South Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency said. "We will work with health authorities to continue managing and cracking down on medical narcotics so that they are used for their intended purposes."
