Bad news!
"Many U.S. nursing homes are falsely labeling dementia patients as schizophrenic in order to use dangerous antipsychotic drugs to sedate them, finds a new Office of Inspector General watchdog report, which found the dangerous practice has grown increasingly common as nursing homes seek to skirt Medicare safeguards and artificially inflate their ratings." (Global Health NOW)
"What OIG [Office of Inspector General] Found
OIG’s comprehensive review of 40 nursing home inspections completed by CMS found instances of nursing homes inappropriately diagnosing residents with schizophrenia. Specifically, our review of these inspections found instances in which:
- Nursing homes inappropriately diagnosed residents with schizophrenia to mask the nursing homes’ misuse of antipsychotic drugs and to artificially inflate their star ratings.
- Medical directors made inappropriate schizophrenia diagnoses to justify prescribing antipsychotic drugs.
- Nursing homes also used inappropriate schizophrenia diagnoses to skirt Medicare safeguards intended to protect residents.
- By inappropriately diagnosing schizophrenia, nursing homes compromised residents’ care.
..."
No comments:
Post a Comment