BOSTON -- The death of Michael Jackson has made the drug propofol a well-known name. It's a widely used sedative in hospitals.

But as NewsCenter 5 reported Wednesday, even before Jackson's death, propofol abuse has been a growing problem among doctors and nurses.

It's the powerful sedative that killed Michael Jackson. But days before his death, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists warned hospitals to restrict access to propofol, because doctors and nurses who use it on patients are also abusing it.

"Those providers who have issues with insomnia, many times they think that by giving themselves a little bit of propofol, it puts them into a deep enough sleep, and they wake up refreshed," said Steve Alves, the vice president of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists, and an associate clinical professor with Northeastern University.

But even providers who use it on a daily basis are unclear how potent it can be. A recent study found 30 percent of physicians who abused propofol actually died. And last year, Dr. Brent Cambron was found dead in a storage closet at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. There was a half-filled vial of propofol and other drugs surrounding his body. The anesthesiologist had been battling drug addiction.

"It's a very stressful environment that we work in and unfortunately these are some of the avenues that people take," said Alves.

Dr. Michael Fitzsimons is an anesthesiologist with Massachusetts General Hospital. He says the hospital is well aware of that fact that between 1 and 2 percent of anesthesia providers are abusing a wide variety of potent drugs, include propofol. It's believed to be the same percentage among all health care providers.

"It's easy access. we are one of the few physicians who obtain the drugs ourselves," he said. "We've instituted random drug testing of attending physicians, nurse anesthetists, residents and fellows in 2003 in an attempt to decrease the incidence within our department.

While MGH has seen a decrease in drug abuse within the anesthesiology department, Fitzsimons said the focus continues to be on educating providers about this serious issue as well as getting people the help they need.

"Our greatest fear is the death of an individual. And that is what we are trying to prevent," Fitzsimons said.

The good news is a recent study found nearly 75 percent of physicians who go into strong recovery programs recover. It said just over 20 percent relapsed, but unfortunately, between 2 and 3 percent died.