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March 17, 2010
Analysis Finds Antipsychotics Given To Some Massachusetts Nursing-Home Patients With Dementia.
On its front page, the Boston Globe (3/8, A1, Lazar) reports that, according to the Boston Globe's own "analysis of federal data," approximately "2,500 nursing home residents in Massachusetts were given powerful" antipsychotics "last year that were not intended or recommended for their medical condition."
In fact, "data collected by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show that 28 percent of Massachusetts nursing home residents were given antipsychotics in 2009," even though "22 percent" of those residents "did not have a medical condition that calls for such treatment." In some cases, the medications are dispensed inappropriately because nursing homes lack behavior management techniques, experience, and staffing to deal with agitated patients, the Globe explains.
Related Links:
- Drugs at Mass. nursing homes could pose risks," The Boston Globe, March 8, 2010.
Posted by admin at March 17, 2010 08:15 PM