Lee Gae-ho "60% of Medical Institutions Do Not Report Narcotics Disposal Amounts"

"Possibility of Illegal Distribution... Urgent Need to Strengthen Management and Supervision"

Lee Gae-ho 의원

It was found that 6 out of 10 medical institutions handling narcotics did not report the amount of narcotics discarded after use, raising concerns about the need for strengthened management and supervision by relevant authorities to prevent misuse and illegal handling.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to Lee Gae-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Damyang, Jangseong, Yeonggwang, and Hampyeong), only 7,167 out of 17,017 medical institutions (42.1%) handling narcotics last year reported the amount of medical narcotics used and discarded to the Narcotics Integrated Management System (NIMS) operated by the Ministry.

In the case of injectable narcotic drugs, the usual single dose is packaged in glass containers such as ampoules (vials), and depending on the patient's weight or health condition, the dosage varies, resulting in leftover amounts. These leftovers are classified as accident narcotics and must be reported to the integrated management system after disposal.

Medical institutions that do not enter disposal amounts likely reported the leftover amount as ‘0’ or falsely entered data despite leftover amounts. Leftover amounts not reported for disposal are likely to have escaped monitoring and may have been misused. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety requests investigations into medical institutions that misuse narcotic drugs every year. In 2022, 89 institutions were investigated; in 2023, 69; and up to July this year, 34 institutions.

There are also concerns about lax management of leftover narcotics from closed medical institutions. According to the Ministry’s investigation, from 2019 to 2022, the narcotics inventory of 920 closed medical institutions amounted to 1.74 million units. Among these, 1.31 million units were not entered into the integrated management system as transferred or discarded, and 350,000 units had no confirmed transfer or disposal, prompting investigation requests. Additionally, 80,000 units were closed due to handlers’ deaths, and their whereabouts remain unknown. Last year, 100,000 units were confirmed as cases of unentered transfer or disposal, and 970,000 units (including an estimated 960,000 units unreported as used) were subject to investigation requests by local governments.

Representative Lee stated, “Narcotic drugs unreported and leaked through closed medical institutions from 2019 to last year are highly likely to have been illegally distributed,” emphasizing, “It is urgent to strengthen management and supervision by relevant authorities regarding the handling of narcotics in medical institutions and to prepare countermeasures.”

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