Board of Audit and Inspection Points Out Poor Management by Ministry of Health and Welfare
Zero License Revocations Due to Drug Addiction
A doctor with a history of fentanyl addiction, known as the "zombie drug," who worked at a hospital after treatment or was placed under medical custody for arson, still retained their medical license.
It was also revealed that hundreds of doctors suffering from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and dementia performed hundreds of thousands of medical procedures under the poor management of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, raising concerns about the inadequate oversight by health authorities.
The Board of Audit and Inspection conducted a focused inspection on medical personnel with mental illnesses and drug addiction, and on the 19th, disclosed the results of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s regular audit containing these findings.
Under the current Medical Service Act, individuals with mental illnesses and drug addiction are subject to medical license revocation. However, there has been not a single case of medical license revocation due to drug addiction, and only one case of license revocation based on mental illness (a nurse with schizophrenia in 2017) has been recorded. There has been no license revocation due to drug addiction to date.
One doctor who was placed under medical custody for bipolar affective disorder and one Korean medicine doctor under medical custody for schizophrenia still maintained their licenses. An otolaryngology specialist performed at least 16,840 medical procedures over 37 months while receiving treatment for schizophrenia, and a psychiatry specialist performed at least 6,345 medical procedures over 38 months while receiving treatment for dementia.
Since 2020, 102 and 70 medical personnel have been treated for dementia and schizophrenia, respectively, as their primary illnesses. They performed at least 762,107 medical procedures up to February of this year. This figure excludes non-reimbursable medical procedures that cannot be claimed under health insurance benefits. Among them, 120 individuals performed 436,845 medical procedures while still undergoing treatment.
The possibility of such situations is influenced by the vague legal definitions of mental illness and drug addiction, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s failure to establish specific procedures for license revocation.
Management of medical personnel addicted to drugs was also negligent. The Board of Audit and Inspection identified 2 doctors and 1 nurse among 844 individuals who received drug addiction treatment at national institutions between 2020 and 2022. All three worked at care institutions during their treatment protection period, and one anesthesiologist performed two medical procedures.
The audit also revealed cases where medical personnel prescribed or administered narcotics to themselves. According to the Narcotics Integrated Management System (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety), from May 2018 to December 2022, 44 doctors prescribed or administered narcotics to themselves more than 50 times annually, and among them, 12 doctors did so more than 100 times annually.
The Board of Audit and Inspection also uncovered that the Ministry of Health and Welfare neglected to take disciplinary action or supervise 264 doctors who had their licenses suspended for violating the Medical Service Act, despite these doctors prescribing or administering narcotic drugs 3,596 times (2,453 prescriptions and 1,143 administrations) during their suspension periods.
Additionally, the audit confirmed that the Ministry of Health and Welfare, despite receiving notifications from investigative agencies about individuals violating the Medical Service Act, neglected to act, resulting in 24 cases being closed internally due to expiration of the disciplinary period. Between 2018 and March 2023, out of a total of 1,999 administrative actions against doctors and others, 1,848 cases were managed subjectively, delaying the start of disciplinary actions citing reasons such as the economic hardship of the subjects.
Despite the Board of Audit and Inspection notifying the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2019 about 56 medical personnel suspected of performing medical acts during license suspension, the Ministry improperly failed to notify investigative agencies and reduced penalties. The Board of Audit and Inspection has requested disciplinary action against the officials responsible for these tasks.
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