Assemblyman Kim Won-i: Excessive Prescription of Narcotic Drugs in Primary Medical Institutions 'Serious'

Plastic Surgery (43 Cases) and Psychiatry (41 Cases) Have the Highest Number of Violations

42.4% or 67 Cases Involve Propofol, 38 Cases Involve Appetite Suppressants, and 27 Cases Involve Zolpidem Detected

Won-i Kim, Member of the National Assembly (The Democratic Party of Korea, Mokpo-si, Jeollanam-do)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] It has been revealed that frontline medical institutions continue to excessively prescribe narcotics and psychotropic drugs. In particular, since the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) began computerized management of narcotic drugs through the Narcotics Integrated Management System in May 2018, the number of medical institutions caught violating these regulations has also significantly increased.

According to data on the "Status of Hospitals Excessively (Mis)Prescribing Narcotic Drugs in the Last 5 Years" submitted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to Kim Won-i, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea (Mokpo City, Jeonnam), a total of 158 hospitals were caught by health authorities for excessive prescriptions of narcotic drugs such as propofol, appetite suppressants, and zolpidem from 2015 to 2019.

The number of hospitals caught was around 20 each year: 27 in 2015, 20 in 2016, 27 in 2017, and 16 in 2018. However, after the computerized management of narcotic drug use in hospitals through the Narcotics Integrated Management System starting in May 2018, the number of hospitals caught rose sharply to 68 in 2019.

Among the types of drugs caught, propofol, well known as the "milk injection" due to its strong hallucinogenic effects, accounted for the largest number with 67 cases (42.4%) out of the total 158 cases. Appetite suppressants, known to have various side effects including depression, accounted for 38 cases (24.1%), followed by zolpidem, commonly prescribed as a sleeping pill, with 27 cases (17.1%).

The hospital type with the highest number of excessive narcotic drug prescriptions was plastic surgery clinics, with a total of 43 cases (27.2%), followed by psychiatric hospitals with 41 cases (25.9%). However, excessive prescriptions of narcotic drugs were also occurring in general clinics and internal medicine hospitals, which are frequently used by the general public.

Meanwhile, since the operation of the Narcotics Integrated Management System in February 2018 until June of this year, approximately 19,016,309 prescriptions of propofol have been issued, totaling 23,353,555 units prescribed. During the same period, appetite suppressants were prescribed 12,889,593 times, totaling 512,652,054 tablets, and zolpidem was prescribed 23,716,034 times, totaling 299,075,450 tablets.

For propofol, in 2018, prescriptions for those under 10 years old accounted for 1.7% (109,682 units) of the total 6,441,993 units prescribed, and those in their 20s accounted for 7.7% (494,438 units). However, in the first half of this year, prescriptions for those under 10 years old increased to 2.0% (97,300 units), and for those under 20 years old to 10.3% (497,534 units). Prescriptions for the elderly aged 60 and above also increased from 23.1% of total propofol prescriptions in 2018 to 30.5% in the first half of this year.

For zolpidem, prescriptions for those aged 60 and above accounted for 54.1% of total prescriptions in 2018, increasing to 59.4% in the first half of 2020.

A female patient in her 30s was prescribed 908 units of propofol over 266 prescriptions since the operation of the Narcotics Integrated Management System in May 2018. A male patient in his 30s was prescribed 24,222 tablets of appetite suppressants over 223 prescriptions during the same period, and another female patient in her 30s was prescribed 39,014 tablets of zolpidem over 335 prescriptions. All of them are currently under investigation by prosecutors and police on suspicion of excessive prescription of narcotic drugs.

Assemblyman Kim Won-i stated, "Since it has been revealed that misuse of narcotic drugs in frontline hospitals is serious, a system to eradicate this must be established centered on the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety." He added, "As the Narcotics Integrated Management System is already established and operating, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety should actively monitor suspected cases of misuse and prepare management and supervision measures to ensure the system’s purpose and effectiveness are achieved."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.