Korea to ban self-prescribing of propofol by doctors and dentists

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) said Thursday that it has proposed amendments to the enforcement rules of the Act on the Management of Narcotic Drugs to prohibit medical practitioners (doctors and dentists) from prescribing or administering propofol (an anesthetic) to themselves, and will accept comments until Dec. 10.

The ministry explained that it is pushing to designate propofol and other narcotic drugs as prohibited from self-prescribing, as the Act on the Management of Narcotic Drugs, which bans doctors and dentists from prescribing addictive and dependent narcotic drugs to themselves, will go into effect on Feb. 7 next year.

According to the ministry, 4,883 doctors and 4,147 medical institutions were confirmed to have self-prescribed narcotics in the first half of 2024. From January to June this year, the MFDS informed doctors and medical institutions who prescribed medical narcotics, including propofol, to their patients about the revised law and distributed a letter in September calling for their safe use.

The food and drug regulator is also considering expanding the ban on self-prescribing medical narcotics in light of misuse.

“The amendment to the enforcement rules of the Act on the Management of Narcotic Drugs will help stabilize the system and improve the inconvenience of citizens before the new system is implemented,” the ministry said. “We will continue to do our best to manage the safety of narcotics and improve the system.”