(McKnight’s) – Government investigators are calling for greater scrutiny of antipsychotics use among dementia patients in post-acute settings beyond nursing homes.
Nearly a third of elderly dementia residents spending more than three months in nursing homes wind up taking the powerful drugs, Government Accountability Office investigators found after combing through databases of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program. But a smaller yet no less disturbing number (14%) of dementia patients are also getting prescribed antipsychotics in home settings and assisted living facilities, prompting the GAO this week to advise Health and Human Services to initiate greater oversight and educational outreach.
In its report issued publicly on Monday, the GAO observed that while the drugs may be appropriately prescribed to address patients expressing agitation or delusions, they have been shown by the FDA to pose an increased risk of death in people suffering simultaneously from dementia and psychosis.
Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE) told the New York Times the report shows that “many seniors with dementia are receiving risky mind-altering medications.” The GAO report notes that “antipsychotic drugs are often initiated in hospital settings and carried over when older adults are admitted to a nursing home,” where conditions like inadequate staffing could lead to their over-use.