80% of nursing home residents on Medicare were prescribed psychiatric drugs during a recent nine-year period, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (AARP Bulletin, January/February 2023, page 4). It is well known that there is a labor shortage and nursing staffs are cut pretty slim, but unfortunately this often results in nursing home residents being overmedicated with anti-depressants and anti-psychotics so that they rarely get up and move around or socialize. This is unfortunate as we have seen many of our clients put into nursing homes because of the high cost of home-care, and many of them pass away shortly thereafter. I believe this is due to a number of factors including depression, lack of social interaction, and a desire to remain in their own home. Psychotropics have long been criticized by nursing home resident advocates as “chemical straitjackets” used to sedate unruly residents, including those with Alzheimer’s and dementia. I have seen this first hand and it is very unsettling.
