title: The misuse and abuse of propofol.
abstract: Media attention on the misuse of propofol increased significantly when the drug was implicated in the death of pop music superstar Michael Jackson in 2010. The misuse and abuse of propofol among healthcare providers has been reported worldwide, with some misuse resulting in death. Propofol policies guiding healthcare worker re-entry into the workplace after misusing propofol have received rare attention in the research literature. The paucity of information regarding propofol-specific re-entry policies suggests that little research has addressed this problem and the lack of research and policy guidance can contribute to unsafe re-entry and even death. This paper focuses on healthcare providers because they have an easy access to propofol and therefore are vulnerable to misusing or abusing the drug. To accomplish this, the pharmacology and misuse/abuse potential of propofol and the influence of the 12-step recovery paradigm in the re-entry literature are reviewed. In conclusion, existing research and policy are drawn upon to suggest employment re-entry guidelines for healthcare workers.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240, USA. todd.b.monroe@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Monroe
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hamza
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stocks
authors.forename: Paula Davies
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Scimeca
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cowan
mesh_terms: D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015742:Propofol / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D015742:Propofol