Recent investigations conducted by the California Department of Public Health show that nursing home neglect is a major factor in pharmacy errors that are being made in many of these care facilities. According to a report in The New York Times, many of the errors have the potential to be fatal for frail and elderly residents in California’s nursing homes.

The article gives the example of a female resident at Greenhills Manor nursing home in Campbell who was given the antipsychotic drug Seroquel. The woman not only had a medical history of seizures, but research shows that elderly people who take antipsychotic drugs are more likely to experience seizures. In addition, the pharmacist gave her another antipsychotic drug, Risperdal. The combination of the two drugs, state officials say, could cause life-threatening irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias.

Prescribing Antipsychotic Drugs

The state’s investigation found that pharmacists who are responsible for reviewing patients’ medications in nursing homes frequently allow such inappropriate and potentially lethal prescriptions of antipsychotic medications. The Bay Citizen also obtained reports that found that pharmacists inappropriately prescribed powerful antipsychotic drugs exposing nursing home patients to potentially fatal side effects such as seizures.

How could this happen? The state’s report says that most of the nursing homes do not have pharmacists on staff, but utilize “consulting pharmacists.” Nursing homes do not even pay fair market rates for these pharmacists’ services. The Times article states that a 1982 anti-kickback law requires nursing homes to pay a fair rate for pharmacy services to discourage consulting pharmacists from endorsing or extending the prescriptions of expensive, and potentially dangerous, drugs. However, “a majority of the nursing homes where the state found patients who were inappropriately prescribed antipsychotic medications were paying below-average fees for pharmacy services.”

Putting Profits before People

This practice seems to be yet another way for nursing homes to cut corners and put profits before the people they are supposed to serve. Under California law, consulting pharmacists who work for nursing homes are required to review patients’ charts monthly and make recommendations as to which medications must be stopped, reduced or changed, depending on the patients’ progress.

But, according to these reports, nursing homes get away paying these pharmacists $11 an hour compared to the market rate of $56.29. When pharmacists are not paid properly to do their jobs, it leads to a situation where nursing homes look the other way as the pharmacist tries to recoup his or her wage by making drug recommendations based on financial incentives rather than what is in the patient’s best interest. Despite these outrageous findings, the state has yet to fine or penalize violating nursing homes.

There is no question that nursing homes that show such callous disregard for the safety of their own residents must be held accountable. If your loved one has been the victim of neglect or abuse in a nursing home, please get in touch with an experienced California personal injury lawyer who has fought these nursing homes on behalf of victims and their families.

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