Doctor Who Prescribed Medication Based Solely on Prisoner's Letter Saying "Please Give Medicine" Faces License Suspension

Prescription in a Letter from Prison... Controlled Psychotropic Drugs
"Doctor's Responsibility" Claimed but Fined and License Suspended

A doctor who issued prescriptions containing psychotropic drugs based solely on letters from drug offenders incarcerated in prison was suspended from practicing medicine. The doctor filed an administrative lawsuit seeking to cancel the suspension but lost the case.

According to the legal community on the 17th, around 2019, Doctor A received a letter from a prison. The letter described a prisoner who had committed a crime complaining of pain. Without suspicion, Doctor A issued a prescription based only on the letter and sent it to the prison.

However, this was illegal, and the prisoners who sent the letters were drug offenders. Among the total of 17 prescriptions issued by Doctor A until 2020, there were also psychotropic drugs.

Doctor A accepted criminal penalties, including a fine of 3 million won for violating the Medical Service Act. However, when the Ministry of Health and Welfare imposed an administrative sanction of a two-month suspension of medical license, Doctor A filed a lawsuit against the Minister of Health and Welfare seeking cancellation of the suspension.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Doctor A claimed, "This mistake was made due to a misunderstanding that telemedicine was permitted under the law." He stated that since prisoners complained of pain, he issued prescriptions with a sense of responsibility and sympathy as a doctor, at minimal cost, and did not seek economic gain.

He added, "Since the prescriptions were not issued with the awareness that the prisoners were drug offenders, the investigative agency also decided there was no suspicion of violating the Narcotics Control Act," and "If these circumstances had been sufficiently considered, a lighter sanction would have been possible."

However, the Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Division 12, ruled against Doctor A. The court stated, "There is a need to impose strict sanctions on doctors who issue prescriptions without directly examining patients," and "The suspension of the license cannot be seen as exceeding the scope of discretion under social norms and is therefore lawful." The court also pointed out, "Among the prescribed drugs were psychotropic drugs that pose a risk of abuse and misuse, which could seriously undermine medical order."

The court explained the reasoning, saying, "Considering that medical professionals' duties directly affect the life and health of the public, the disadvantage the plaintiff will suffer from this sanction is not greater than the public interest in regulating violations of the Medical Service Act."