No wonder Mom doesn't say anything when you visit the home....
"Mass. fails to rein in sedating of seniors; Nursing homes that overuse antipsychotics unpunished" by Kay Lazar | Globe Staff, December 23, 2012
State regulators rarely take action against Massachusetts nursing homes that, contrary to federal guidelines, use powerful anti-psychotic sedatives to control unruly elderly residents, a Boston Globe investigation has found.
Just 27 homes were cited for unnecessary use of antipsychotics from 2009-11, and inspectors in each of those cases did not deem the incidents as serious. The homes were not fined.
Federal guidelines say that antipsychotics are intended for patients with severe mental illness and a handful of other conditions, but many nursing homes administer them more broadly to residents who punch, kick, or shove others. Often that includes residents with dementia, despite federal warnings about potentially fatal side effects in such patients.
Government data show that antipsychotics are overused more often in Massachusetts nursing homes than nationally, but only a small fraction of facilities with high rates of unnecessary use have been admonished by state regulators, the Globe found.
The pharmaceuticals need to be $upported.
In the cases where homes were cited, inspection reports described residents who had been on antipsychotics for months, and sometimes years, without evidence that staff tried to wean them off — as required by federal law. And a few reports detailed instances in which residents were so overmedicated they were unable to open their mouths to eat, or do much of anything besides sleep....
Earlier this year, the Globe reported that antipsychotic overuse is prevalent in many of the nation’s 15,600 nursing homes, and that about 185,000 residents were given the drugs in 2010 without a valid reason....
Related: Sunday Globe Special: Nursing Home Nightmares
Advocates for nursing home residents say facilities need to employ nondrug methods for controlling unruly behavior.
More than half of nursing home residents have dementia, and many are no longer able to articulate their pain or needs, which often prompts them to strike caregivers or other residents out of frustration, fear, and confusion....
Over the past four years, since the recession started squeezing state budgets, the safety and quality bureau has shouldered a 26 percent cut, losing roughly $4.7 million (adjusted for inflation), according to an analysis by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center....
Hey, look, we need to make debt interest and tax subsidy payments first.
--more--"
Also see: The Massachusetts Model: Nursing Home Will Make You Nuts
So will reading the newspaper.
UPDATE: Bill would require consent to use antipsychotics
After the old folks have already swallowed.
