A doctor who diverted propofol by writing false prescriptions under patients' names and then administered most of it to themselves has been arrested by police. The amount of propofol identified by police alone totaled about 28,380 milligrams, enough for roughly 560 sedation endoscopy procedures.
The Metropolitan Investigation Unit of the South Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency said on the 6th that it had detained and referred to prosecutors a doctor in his 50s, identified as A, on charges including violating the Act on the Management of Narcotics.
A is accused of habitually administering propofol, a psychotropic drug, at a hospital A operates in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, between November last year and June this year.
A police investigation found that A diverted propofol by creating false prescriptions using the names of patients, including 33 foreign nationals who did not require prescriptions, or by recording larger quantities on prescriptions than were actually administered.
The illegal volume confirmed by police reached about 28,380 milligrams. Police said that amount is enough for roughly 560 doses by the standard for a typical sedation endoscopy.
Police believe A administered most of the diverted propofol to themselves. They also obtained statements from hospital staff that A administered propofol in locations such as a bedroom at the hospital during working hours.
A has acknowledged diverting and using the propofol but has partially denied the allegations, saying A did not inject all of the drugs A took, according to police.
An acquaintance who helped A has also come under investigation. Police booked B, a person in their 40s who assisted in administering the propofol, and two nursing assistants on charges of violating the Act on the Management of Narcotics.
C, a person in their 30s who received propofol from A without the doses being reported to the Narcotics Information Management System (NIMS), was booked on the same charge.
C's propofol use was also found to be substantial. C received propofol while moving among several hospitals, including the one A operates, in what is known as "doctor shopping," and the volume confirmed by police alone reached about 10,980 milligrams.
C in particular was found to have visited multiple hospitals in a single day, receiving up to about 10 vials of propofol at a time. Police plan to expand the investigation to other hospitals that administered propofol to C to determine whether there were problems in the prescription and administration process.
"Medical narcotics are also highly addictive and habit-forming, so we ask for active reporting and cooperation regarding illegal administration and distribution carried out in secret," a police official said. "We will continue to manage and crack down in cooperation with health authorities so that medical narcotics are used for their intended purposes."
