nursing home abuse
Report Highlights Misuse of Anti-Psychotics in Nursing Homes
A Boston Globe report based on government data has found that a number of the nation’s nursing homes are wrongfully using anti-psychotic drugs to silence residents who display hostile or combative behavior. According to a news report in USA Today, the Globe’s investigation found that a Massachusetts nursing home was administering dangerous anti-psychotic drugs to 19 percent of its residents, even those who did not have a diagnosis for which the drugs are recommended.
These drugs, usually prescribed for those suffering from schizophrenia, can have powerful side effects, including dizziness, abnormal heart rhythm, sudden drop in blood pressure, blurred vision, or even death. The Globe’s investigation also found that just in the year 2010, 185,000 nursing home residents nationwide received these drugs against the recommendation of federal nursing home regulators. Many of the patients who received these drugs were those suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia.
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GAO Study: Improvement Needed in Evaluating Quality of Nursing Home Care
A recent federal study asserts the need for The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to improve the tools it uses to assess the quality of nursing home care, McKnights Long Term Care News reports. According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report conducted at the request of Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Herb Kohl (D-WI), CMS “has not established quality measures or performance goals” to evaluate the quality of patient care in our nation’s nursing homes through the Quality Indicator Survey process.
For example, GAO found that during resident interviews, surveyors did not consistently look for further information when they were provided with incomplete answers. Senator Kohl said that the purpose of the survey is to get the information necessary to help provide nursing home residents quality care.
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