In California, twelve new bills were recently proposed in support of increasing the care, health, and safety of elderly individuals staying at residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs). The purpose of these bills was also to enhance state enforcement and regulation, and came in light of numerous reports and…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the initiative Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes to lower the use of antipsychotic medication in nursing home facilities. The aim of this initiative was to reduce the inappropriate use of antipsychotic drugs by 15%. However, this goal was…
A recent study published by the Journal of American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA) provided insight as to the knowledge nursing home staff possessed regarding antipsychotic drugs, along with the beliefs they held regarding the appropriateness and effectiveness of such drugs. Antipsychotic medications are generally administered to dementia patients to address…
Due to the prevalence of nursing home abuse arising across the nation, some states have begun moving towards implementing legislation to explicitly allow surveillance cameras in the rooms of patients residing in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. These surveillance cameras will be used to record evidence of instances of…
Summerlin Hospital, located in Las Vegas, is currently being sued by former patients, visitors, and employees for negligence. Those bringing suit are claiming that the hospital failed to take precautionary measures, endangering the health and lives of staff, patients, and others by exposing them to a woman and at least…
A recent investigation in Michigan exposed the number of nursing home facilities in the state that were cited for significant medication errors. The resulting data from the investigation demonstrated that patients within nursing homes either failed to receive enough medication, were administered too much medication, or were administered incorrect medication.…
According to a news release by the United States Department of Justice (US DOJ), pharmaceutical and health care giant Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay more than $2.2 billion in a settlement to resolve criminal and civil liability to resolve accusations of health care fraud. Johnson & Johnson faced…
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found a correlation between an increased risk of hip fractures and injuries from falls and the use of nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic drugs. Such drugs are a class of sleep medication prescribed prevalently by health care providers in nursing home settings…
The non-profit nursing home advocacy group, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, has filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Public Health, challenging the constitutionality of a 1992 California law, Health and Safety Code § 1418.8. Under this law, if a physician deems a patient to be mentally incapacitated,…
Many nursing homes often substitute individualized care with the use of psychotropic drugs to make up for the lack of adequate staffing in their facilities. As a result, nursing homes often misuse psychotropic drugs by administering them to residents in order to sedate or control them. This has the tragic…