Harmful, Unnecessary Drugs Prescribed to Nursing Home Patients

People place their loved ones in nursing homes in order for them to receive proper care and medical attention, but what happens when these facilities are not closely monitored?

More than one in five U.S. nursing homes are administering anti-psychotic drugs to people who do not have a condition that warrants their use, according to a Boston Globe study reported in USA Today.

These drugs, received unnecessarily by about 185,000 nursing home residents nationally in 2010, have powerful side effects, especially for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s or other dementia-related ailments. However, many nursing homes are prescribing these potentially dangerous drugs to avoid agitation and combative behavior.

“We have an inordinate amount of prescriptions written for a population that is already frail, and we know these drugs increase the risk for side effects, including death,” said Michael Gloth, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, specializing in seniors. “So why are they being written?”

Read the full details here:

Report: Anti-psychotics wrongly prescribed in nursing homes

“Nursing home care is abysmal,” says Steve Crandall, a top rated medical malpractice lawyer throughout Ohio and Kentucky, who believes the problem is only going to continue to get worse until something drastic is done.

This problem does not only affect the patients either, according to Crandall: “While the patients are on the medication they are easier to care for and leave in their rooms. The problem is the patients are not being properly cared for and the increased use of medication causes additional cost for healthcare for all of us.”

If you or a loved one have been affected by this improper medication process, or if you have any questions regarding medical malpractice in Ohio and Kentucky, contact Steve Crandall.