Articles Posted in Antipsychotic Drugs

The debate about the use of strong antipsychotic drugs to chemically restrain elderly patients, particularly those who suffer from Alzheimer’s and dementia, continues, and advocates opposing the overuse of medications to subdue seniors have a powerful new ally, the AARP. The phrase “chemical restraint” refers to the practice of unnecessarily drugging patients to restrict their freedom of movement or to sedate them. Our San Diego nursing home abuse lawyers have spoken with many families concerned with the care their loved ones are receiving, so we understand the justifiable outrage of family members who learn that loved ones may have been drugged not for medical reasons, but as a control mechanism.

Elderly patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia tend to be targets of chemical restraints because they frequently exhibit a variety of behavioral problems. Although valid reasons to treat patients with antipsychotic drugs exist, negligent caretakers sometimes take the easy way out, reducing their patients to a virtual zombie-like state with non-medically necessary drugs to control and subdue them.

But elder advocates are taking a stand against such abuse, reports the Ventura County Star. The AARP has joined forces with others suing a Ventura nursing home accused of using powerful drugs without the informed consent of residents or family members. The class-action lawsuit alleges the nursing facility circumvented California laws regulating the use of antipsychotic drugs. North County elder abuse attorneys know state law requires California nursing homes to verify that a doctor has received a patient’s or family member’s consent before administering antipsychotic drugs, but the lawsuit asserts the nursing home failed to do so.

New research shows that elderly people suffering from dementia who are given antipsychotic drugs are more likely to end up in a hospital or die, even if the drugs are administered for a very short period of time.

Antipsychotic drugs are frequently used in nursing homes to address the behavioral issues caused by dementia, including aggression, agitation, and delirium. Physicians concede that alternatives to antipsychotics to address this type of behavior are limited.

Many experts feel behavioral interventions should be tried first and antipsychotics used as a last resort, “when the behavior or the psychiatric symptoms are really out of control and causing complete distress not only for the person suffering from Alzheimer’s, but for caregivers all around them,” said Maria Carrillo, director of medical and scientific affairs at the Alzheimer’s Association in Chicago. “It’s important to work these things out with the physician and, of course, do follow-up very closely together, so you can make sure these antipsychotics are having the effect you want and, if not, discontinue them immediately.”