Nursing homes should be places that provide a sense of security and comfort for the elderly and their families. Such facilities take on the great responsibility of caring for those who may no longer have the ability to care for themselves. Almost always, a large piece of this care includes proper medication.
Unfortunately, not all are created equal in this regard, as overmedication is a serious issue when caring for nursing home residents.
Currently, two nursing homes in California are charged with “persistently and severely” overmedicating their elderly and vulnerable residents. In an effort to deal with this horrible problem, a federal lawsuit has been issued against these homes.
Often, overmedication occurs without the resident’s informed consent or the family’s knowledge. The effects can be extremely detrimental. For example, when the 86-year old man in the aforementioned lawsuit entered the nursing home, he was able to walk on his own and speak without any issues. Shortly into his stay, the staff began administering drugs used to treat Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, Haldol and Risperdal.
Such drugs are extremely dangerous for the elderly, especially when there is no due cause for them. In fact, these antipsychotics can quicken the death in elderly patients and those with dementia.
The resident, nor his family, were ever asked for permission, or given notice of the use of the medication during his residency. The result of him being improperly medicated led him to become bed ridden; he stopped eating and developed infections and bedsores.
With antipsychotic drugs being prescribed on a widespread basis, in fact, they are prescribed for 1/5 of all nursing home patients nationwide, it opens the door for similar cases to be pursued in order to protect the rights and secure better care for the residents of nursing homes and assisted-living facilities across the US.
Source: NPR, “Feds Hope Hitting Nursing Homes in the Wallet Will Cut Overmedication,” Ina Jaffe, September 05, 2014