How Safe Are Nursing Homes? Study Finds Anti-Psychotic Drugs Given to Nursing Home Residents May Be Harmful
A report released by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services raises questions over the administration of anti-psychotic medications to nursing home residents who might not need them. As Broward County, Florida injury attorneys who follow nursing home abuse and neglect cases, news of this report raises troubling questions about the safety of loved ones in nursing homes.
The study, titled "Medicare Atypical Antipsychotic Drug Claims for Elderly Nursing Home Patients," found that...
- Antipsychotic drugs were given to nursing home residents "unnecessarily" over 300,000 times between January and June 2007, with more than half of those drugs given "in excessive dose."
- 88% of the time that Medicare paid for antipsychotic drugs given in nursing homes, these powerful drugs went to patients with dementia.
The DHHS said it is very concerned about the safety of these medications given to nursing home patients unnecessarily, including patients who are already struggling with dementia. Medication errors in nursing homes can be very serious and even lead to death in elderly, frail patients. The DHHS is looking into whether "financial incentives for unnecessary drug use" have come into play in these cases under investigation.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida nursing home abuse lawyers take great interest in reports such as this one, which raise questions about quality of nursing home care nationwide. We have many beloved seniors in nursing homes here in the Sunshine State. The Florida Health Care Association reports 684 nursing homes in Florida, with 82,276 beds and an estimated 72,000 nursing home residents. When we move a loved one into a nursing home in Florida, we rely on the facility medical and healthcare staff to take excellent care of our family member and ensure no harm comes to them. Long-term care (LTC) facilities support an estimated $20.2 billion or 2.7% of Florida's economic activity.
CBS News reported that a woman's father died shortly after being moved into a Calif. nursing home, where he was reportedly given anti-psychotic drugs. The daughter told the press that the medications rapidly brought about her father's decline. Some experts who follow nursing home neglect and injury cases suggest that these powerful medications may be inappropriately used as "chemical restraints" in nursing homes that lack sufficient numbers of qualified, trained staff.
Study finds "Unnecessary" drugs in nursing homes
CBSNews.com May 9, 2011
Medicare Atypical Antipsychotic Drug Claims for Elderly Nursing Home Patients (PDF)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services May 2011
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