Nearly 100 doctors have been caught for misusing narcotics and psychotropic drugs such as propofol, police said Wednesday.
Police have uncovered 98 medical workers ― mostly doctors ― and eight hospitals in a two-month nationwide crackdown on illegal use of drugs by hospitals.
The crackdown, conducted jointly with the health authorities, came after a local obstetrician was arrested in August on charges of injecting his girlfriend with an anesthetic that caused her death and then abandoning her body, sparking concerns of drug abuse at hospitals.
Propofol is classified as a psychotropic drug but commonly used during routine surgeries. It is also known as a “milk injection”because the color of the drug resembles milk.
Among those caught, 29 injected drugs into patients without a proper prescription, 76 others poorly managed drugs and one administered a drug on him or herself, according to the National Police Agency.
By region, Seoul topped the list of instances of illegal drug use cases at 50, followed by Gyeonggi Province surrounding Seoul with 23 cases and the southern port city of Busan at 28, they said. (Yonhap News)
