Elderly Lives Matter®

Antipsychotic Drug Use in Nursing Homes Is a Danger to Some

On Behalf of | Apr 11, 2019 | Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

There is never a time when a nursing home should be using medications to sedate patients when they’re just trying to make their jobs easier. Patients are people, and they shouldn’t be “managed” with their medications.

Sadly, some nursing homes do use antipsychotic drugs to control their patients and make them less able to move around. For example, the use of antipsychotic drugs can make patients extremely tired or make them so relaxed that they don’t move for hours on end.

There are many dangers to drugging patients without the correct psychiatric diagnoses. For instance, dementia patients are at a higher risk of death when given these drugs, so they’re not usually recommended.

Nursing home patients should not be given new medications without their families knowing or without their own permission, if they’re still capable of making decisions for themselves. It’s not right to give medications to a patient without knowing if the medication could harm them or without letting their family members know that they’re struggling. In cases where patients do need these drugs, psychiatric diagnoses are made, and medical providers can prescribe the correct dosages for their needs.

When it comes to antipsychotics, some nursing homes use them to make patients easier to deal with, which is something that should never happen. If you find that your loved one has been given these medications without the approval of their medical provider and without your consent, then it’s time to look into your legal options and to pursue a claim against those who are harming your loved one unnecessarily.

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