Misuse of Antipsychotics Continues to Harm and Kill Thousands of Nursing Facility Residents: An Interview With Ms. Hannah Flamm (February 15th)
www.thehealthcarepolicypodcast.com
Listen Now In early February the Human Rights Watch (HRW) published, "'They Want Docile': How Nursing Homes in the US Over-medicate People with Dementia." The inappropriate or misuse of antipsychotics, e.g., Haldol, Seroquel and Risperdal, in nursing facilities to chemically restrain nursing home patients, moreover frail and elderly seniors, has been practiced for decades. The HRW report found in 2016-2017 "massive use" or abuse, i.e., the report estimated in an average week over 179,000 long-stay nursing facility patients were administered antipsychotic drugs without a diagnosis for which the drugs are indicated or approved. Despite efforts to reduce the abuse of these medications, in part via a CMS voluntary initiative (a link to which his provided below), the practice persists, in part, because the federal government has nominally enforced regulations and enforcement measures to remedy the problem. The use of these drugs can and does cause serious patient harm. In testimony before the Congress in 2007, the FDA's Dr. David Graham stated, "15,000 elderly people in nursing homes [are] dying each year form the off-label use of antipsychotic medications for an indication that the FDA knows the drug doesn't work." Listeners may recall I initially discussed this topic in December 2012 with Diana Zuckerman.
Misuse of Antipsychotics Continues to Harm and Kill Thousands of Nursing Facility Residents: An Interview With Ms. Hannah Flamm (February 15th)
Misuse of Antipsychotics Continues to Harm…
Misuse of Antipsychotics Continues to Harm and Kill Thousands of Nursing Facility Residents: An Interview With Ms. Hannah Flamm (February 15th)
Listen Now In early February the Human Rights Watch (HRW) published, "'They Want Docile': How Nursing Homes in the US Over-medicate People with Dementia." The inappropriate or misuse of antipsychotics, e.g., Haldol, Seroquel and Risperdal, in nursing facilities to chemically restrain nursing home patients, moreover frail and elderly seniors, has been practiced for decades. The HRW report found in 2016-2017 "massive use" or abuse, i.e., the report estimated in an average week over 179,000 long-stay nursing facility patients were administered antipsychotic drugs without a diagnosis for which the drugs are indicated or approved. Despite efforts to reduce the abuse of these medications, in part via a CMS voluntary initiative (a link to which his provided below), the practice persists, in part, because the federal government has nominally enforced regulations and enforcement measures to remedy the problem. The use of these drugs can and does cause serious patient harm. In testimony before the Congress in 2007, the FDA's Dr. David Graham stated, "15,000 elderly people in nursing homes [are] dying each year form the off-label use of antipsychotic medications for an indication that the FDA knows the drug doesn't work." Listeners may recall I initially discussed this topic in December 2012 with Diana Zuckerman.