No More Prescriptions and Dispensing of 'Mayakryu' Drugs by Visiting Hospitals

Jeon Jin-sook, Leads 'Narcotics Shopping Prevention Act'
Mandatory Integration of Prescription S/W with Narcotics Management System

Jeon Jin-sook, Member of the National Assembly.

Jeon Jin-sook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea representing Gwangju Buk-gu Eul, announced on the 29th that she has taken the lead in proposing the "Amendment to the Narcotics Control Act," which allows doctors to check patients' medication histories before prescribing narcotics.

During the National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety held last month, Rep. Jeon uncovered that some patients were visiting dozens of hospitals to receive large quantities of narcotics prescriptions. In particular, she pointed out that one patient was prescribed a total of 11,207 zolpidem tablets, a hypnotic sedative, over 465 times at 34 hospitals, and another patient was prescribed 8,658 ADHD medications over 54 times at 13 hospitals.

To prevent such cases where patients visit multiple medical institutions to obtain large amounts of narcotic drugs, it is necessary to establish a system that allows doctors to check patients' past medication histories. However, the software currently available for this purpose is limited to fentanyl (a painkiller) components, which has limited effectiveness in preventing narcotics shopping.

The amendment proposed by Rep. Jeon mandates the linkage of medical institutions' prescription software with the Integrated Narcotics Management System and stipulates that the Minister of Food and Drug Safety may provide administrative and technical support if necessary.

Rep. Jeon stated, "An analysis of patients receiving large quantities of narcotics showed that many visited multiple medical institutions to obtain prescriptions," adding, "In the case of zolpidem, there are many instances where it is used as so-called 'date rape drugs,' raising concerns about its misuse in crimes."

She also emphasized, "It is urgent to expand the system that allows checking medication histories before prescribing narcotics to fundamentally solve this problem," and pledged, "I will work to ensure the prompt passage of the amendment in the National Assembly."