MFDS Issues Ban Orders Against 219 Doctors for Misusing Medical Narcotics Prescriptions

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 9th that it has issued orders prohibiting 219 doctors from prescribing and dispensing narcotic appetite suppressants, propofol, and zolpidem inappropriately, beyond the established prescription standards.

In April last year, the Ministry used the Pre-Notification System to issue warnings to 4,154 doctors who prescribed beyond the standards and subsequently monitored their prescription records for two months. It was confirmed that 3,935 doctors (94.7%) adjusted their prescriptions appropriately. The Ministry explained that this prohibition order was imposed on doctors whose prescribing behavior did not improve.

The Ministry stated that it plans to impose administrative sanctions, such as a one-month suspension of all narcotics handling duties, on doctors found to have violated the order even after this measure.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said, "We will continue to actively utilize measures such as the Pre-Notification System to prevent narcotics misuse, urge caution regarding narcotics misuse in medical settings, and do our best to create an environment where our citizens can receive treatment with confidence, free from narcotics misuse."