Red Cross Audit Reveals Issues in Handling 'Narcotic Drugs' at Red Cross Hospital
6000 Ampoules of Propofol Not Properly Disposed...No Notification to Individuals of Ineligible Blood Transfusions
[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] The Board of Audit and Inspection has released a report stating that Red Cross hospitals prescribed and administered narcotic drugs using the IDs of doctors who were absent due to vacations or overseas trips.
On the 26th, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced the results of an audit on the Korean Red Cross.
According to the Board of Audit and Inspection, five Red Cross hospitals including those in Seoul habitually shared doctor IDs for the computerized prescription system. The Board stated, "since the introduction of computerized prescription systems with log record verification at each hospital until the end of 2020, a total of 45 cases were confirmed where prescriptions for narcotic drugs were written and administered using the IDs of absent doctors (due to vacation, overseas trips, etc.)."
Additionally, issues were found in the management of propofol, a psychotropic drug.
The Board of Audit and Inspection explained, "The Sangju Red Cross Hospital preset the computerized prescription system so that during sedation endoscopy examinations, propofol (a psychotropic drug) injections were uniformly entered and prescribed as one ampoule under the prescribing doctor's name (license number) and prescribed/administered amount in the in-hospital prescription (medical record)," and added, "Upon verifying the actual administered amount of propofol, it was found that an average residual amount of 0.6 ampoules per patient occurred, yet the computerized prescription system recorded no residual (waste) amount."
The Board pointed out that "from 2017 to 2020, approximately 6,000 ampoules (estimated) of residual propofol were not properly disposed of according to relevant laws and regulations."
The Board of Audit and Inspection notified the Minister of Health and Welfare to prepare appropriate measures under the Narcotics Control Act for narcotics-handling medical personnel (doctors) affiliated with five Red Cross hospitals including those in Seoul, who were found to have written medical records inaccurately and prescribed narcotics.
Meanwhile, the lack of standards for reporting transfusions of unsuitable blood was also highlighted as an issue.
The Board stated, "Until April 2021, the Ministry of Health and Welfare did not specifically regulate the standards for reporting transfusions of unsuitable blood under the Blood Management Act in subordinate legislation," and added, "In the case of blood centers affiliated with the Korean Red Cross, out of 32,585 units of unsuitable blood products released by the blood centers over the past five years, 28,822 units (88.5%) were transfused, yet the blood centers have never reported these facts to the transfusion recipients."
The Board of Audit and Inspection notified the Minister of Health and Welfare to establish measures such as clearly stipulating reporting standards in subordinate legislation so that blood centers can properly fulfill their obligation under the Blood Management Act to notify transfusion recipients when there is a risk of accidents due to transfusion of unsuitable blood or when such accidents occur..
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