Iowa Nursing Home Medication Errors

Medication errors are a wide scale problem in the U.S. and are only becoming more common as prescription drugs become the “go to” source for medical professionals to treat a growing list of ailments afflicting Americans. This matters because medication errors can lead to serious damage to a person’s mental and physical health. Health complications arising out of medication errors include, for example, cancer, strokes, and heart failure to name a few. One group in particular that has been hard hit by this wave of medication errors has been the elderly.

In 2005, the F.D.A. mandated that anti-psychotics include a warning label that the drugs may increase the risk of death for dementia patients. Despite this warning label, Medicare claims in 2007 revealed that about 88 percent of anti-psychotics, which were prescribed to elderly nursing home residents, were prescribed to dementia patients. While there are cases where anti-psychotics have been legitimately prescribed to elderly nursing home patients, research indicates that there are many cases where such drugs should not have been prescribed and this has had a negative impact on elderly individuals’ health throughout America. Indeed, according to medical research cited in a recent PBS news article, “older adults account for 35 percent of all hospital stays but more than half of the visits are marred by drug related complications”.

Contact a Nursing Home Medication Errors Attorney

If you or a loved one has experienced over medication errors, it may be time to consult an attorney who can advise you in choosing the correct course of action as well as recover the costs arising from over medication errors. Contact the Des Moines Iowa nursing home neglect and nursing home medication errors attorney John T. Hemminger for assistance if you or a family member has been harmed at 515-283-2116.