Concerns Over Rising Use Of Drugs To 'Restrain' Nursing Home Patients

A report from the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services found that nursing homes continue to give psychotropic drugs to a high percentage of residents more than a decade after regulators began scrutinizing how the medicines are used.

The Washington Post: Epilepsy Drugs As ‘Chemical Restraint’ On Rise In Nursing Homes

Government policies aimed at curbing excessive use of powerful psychiatric drugs for dementia patients in nursing homes are probably having an unintended side effect: greater use of anti-seizure medications, a government report said Thursday. The evidence released by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services indicates physicians specializing in nursing home care may have traded one controversial practice for another in response to regulatory scrutiny, seeking to sedate dementia patients with anticonvulsant medications rather than antipsychotics. (Rowland, 11/17)

Modern Healthcare: Nursing Home Antipsychotic Drugs Use Is Safety Concern: HHS OIG

Eight out of 10 Medicare long-stay nursing home residents received psychotropic drugs from 2011-2019, the HHS OIG found in a review of Medicare data. Residents of facilities with low staff ratios and with high shares of low-income people are more likely to receive psychotropic medicines. (Berryman, 11/17)

Read the report —

Long-Term Trends of Psychotropic Drug Use in Nursing Homes

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