What I have with this entry is a copy of the letter sent out by an
advocacy
organization, Long Term Community Coalition. It addresses the all-too-common
use of anti-psychotic medications to "control behaviors" of
residents living with dementia.
Anti-psychotic (AP) drugs are designed to aid persons with psychosis. Dementia is not a psychosis. These AP drugs are
used as chemical restraints when prescribed for persons living with dementia. Beyond the sedating impact of these drugs (They're sleeping, so they are not a problem – or so the thinking goes) there are
other harmful side effects.
Why am I sharing this on this blog? For anyone who loves someone
living in a nursing home, if you have any responsibility -- moral or legal –
this information is important.
For those Congregations of Sisters who depend on licensed nursing home care, whether that care is provided by the Congregation's own
nursing home, or in another public licensed retirement center, this
information is vital information. Quality of life is of
the essence in this issue as well as quality of care, considering serious negative side effects and the inappropriate use of
these chemical restraints.
In desiring and in expecting the highest quality of life and the highest quality of care for our Sisters, as mandated by Federal and State Nursing Home Regulations, those Sisters who have the appointed responsibility for their Sisters receiving long-term care must know what those
standards are in order to be effective advocates.
And here is the letter with links as provided in the original letter.
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Good morning,
Today, CMS announced it is taking additional steps to
strengthen
nursing home safety and transparency by increasing
oversight of inappropriate antipsychotics use. These steps
include:
- Targeted auditing of nursing homes to determine
accuracy of
- schizophrenia diagnoses, and
- Posting citations under dispute on Care Compare.
The inappropriate use of antipsychotic (AP) drugs and
other
psychotropic drugs to chemically restrain nursing
home residents is a persistent and widespread problem. In
particular, AP drugs are too often used on residents with
dementia because a facility is unwilling to hire sufficient
staff, with the appropriate competencies, to employ non-pharmacological
approaches to dementia care (as professional standards of care
require).
We and other advocates have been calling on CMS to
improve
oversight and accountability for many years. This has
resulted in some improvement, but not nearly enough. As found in
our recent report,
"A
Decade of Drugging," ( A Decade of Drugging - NursingHome411) approximately
20% of nursing home residents are currently receiving these
dangerous drugs. That report cites an October 2022 federal
report which found that a shocking 80% of nursing home
residents are receiving some form of psychotropic drug.
In what other setting would we allow so many living things
to be drugged into submission? If it was discovered in an
animal shelter, it would be all over the news and heads
would roll. But when it comes to nursing homes, we not only
accept the unthinkable, we bankroll it: super-rich investors
and operators are making millions, thanks to a steady stream
of public dollars and minimal oversight. Meanwhile, residents
suffer
avoidable pain and degradation.
CMS's announcement
( Biden-Harris Administration Takes Additional Steps to Strengthen Nursing Home Safety and
Transparency | CMS ) is
a good first step.
By cracking down on false diagnoses of schizophrenia, it
has the potential to help address one of the ways in which
nursing homes hide the inappropriate use of antipsychotic
drugs. However, it is not a substitute for vigorous monitoring
and enforcement of longstanding minimum standards of care.
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