Federal Inspector Talks to Congress About Overmedication of Nursing Home Residents
An inspector from the Department of Health and Human Services warned Congress on Wednesday that overmedication and improper use of medication is a major problem in nursing homes and that the federal government's Medicare program should begin penalizing nursing homes that use medication improperly.
HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson's testimony before Congress's Committee on Aging on Wednesday shed a national spotlight on a problem that has long been recognized among family members and residents' rights activists: overmedication and the use of chemical restraints. Levinson recommended that the Medicare program begin penalizing nursing homes that improperly use medication by refusing to pay for medication that is not needed and reducing or eliminating Medicare payments to facilities that show a pattern of improper medication use.
Levinson's report focused primarily on the use of antipsychotic medications in residents with dementia. Among the startling discoveries in the inspector's report was the finding that 83% of Medicare claims for antipsychotic medication were for residents with dementia, despite the fact that using antipsychotic medication for people with dementia is explicitly warned against on the drugs' warning label.
Antipsychotic medications can have a sedative effect, making them a popular form of chemical restraint to control aggresive behavior in residents with dementia. However, the drugs can also increase the risk of death in seniors, prompting the Food and Drug Administration to issue multiple warnings against using the medication to treat dementia.
