Seoul bans doctors, dentists' self-prescription of propofol

The Korean government is pushing to ban medical professionals from prescribing propofol for themselves to reduce the risk of misuse, officials said Friday.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it will propose an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Narcotics Control Act to prohibit doctors and dentists from prescribing or administering propofol to themselves and receive public opinion on the policy until Dec. 10.

Propofol is a sedative used mostly during cosmetic procedures or when people receive an endoscopy during regular medical checkups. It is classified as a psychotropic drug here, meaning use without a proper prescription is a criminal offense. It is sometimes misused for its calming, relaxing effect, but it can cause hallucinations and even death if taken in excessive doses.

The move comes after some doctors came under fire for prescribing medical narcotics under the names of deceased patients, prescribing an excessive amount of narcotics for a single patient or prescribing the drug for their own use, raising concerns that they were abusing their position to misuse it or allow others to.

Police data showed that some 216 doctors were caught not following legal guidelines in prescribing controlled substances in the first eight months of last year. The figure was 186 in 2022, 212 in 2021 and 186 in 2020, respectively.

Amid the growing illicit distribution of medical narcotics, the KDCA said that the new scheme will take effect on Feb. 7 next year. Health care authorities added that they are considering expanding the measures to other substances to address misuse of controlled medications.