The job of prescribing medications requires balance. The goal must be to improve the health of the patient as much as possible while minimizing risks, taking into account any negative side-effects or quality of life issues. Such considerations are especially important for elder care in nursing homes, as the residents…
Medication is intended to improve the quality of a patient’s life by reducing uncomfortable symptoms or by curing a disease. However, taking more medication does not equal to receiving more benefits. In fact, the consequences of using too many medications at once, or polypharmacy, can be extremely harmful and counterproductive.…
A study published by The Gerontologist found that nursing homes that focused on creating a culture of patient safety which involves using less physical restraints, resulted in lower mortality rates, lower rates of failure to rescue, decreased chances of medical errors, and more days between serious safety events. A culture…
A recent article titled, “Comparative Safety of Antipsychotic Medications in Nursing Home Residents” was published by the Journal of American Geriatrics Society. As reported by the article, an entire third of nursing home patients are prescribed antipsychotics at some point during their residence. Because such a large population of nursing…
A study in the March 2012 issue of the Western Journal of Nursing Research, titled “Nursing Home Deficiency Citations for Physical Restraints and Restrictive Side Rails” brings attention to the use of physical restraints in skilled nursing facilities. The study is unique because it includes restrictive bed rails in its…
While we are fortunate to be living in a modern world that is constantly making advancements in the field of medicine, the side effects of pharmaceuticals can often be dangerous and have implications that must be assessed. The March issue of the Journal of American Medical Directors published an article…
While polypharmacy, the use of multiple drugs simultaneously, is known to have dangerous effects on the physical and psychological health of patients, other causes of adverse drug reactions among the elderly population are lesser known. A study, titled “Geriatric Conditions and Adverse Drug Reaction in Elderly Hospitalized Patients,” published in…
On January 10, 2012, Bloomberg News featured a story about Omnicare, a pharmaceutical company, that adjusted its billing records and reported false information to government health programs, such as Medicare and Medi-Cal, in order to increase its own profits. According to the report, the government may have lost millions of…
On November 30, 2011, the Associated Press and Bloomberg news both reported that Medicare money was being used to improperly prescribe antipsychotics to nursing home patients. These drugs, which include AstraZeneca Plc (AZN) and Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY), are used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. However, they are…
Studies show that one in five adults residing in nursing homes experience agitation, which can manifest itself as irritability, apathy, or depression. While agitation occurs in adults who are relatively healthy, it becomes problematic when adults who have dementia become agitated because these cases of agitation are more likely to…