US Senate hearings put focus on alternatives to overuse of antipsychotics in nursing homes

US Senator Herb Kohl (Democrat, Wisconsin), Chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, held a hearing this week examining the widespread inappropriate use of antipsychotics among nursing home residents suffering from dementia, high costs to taxpayers and the efforts to find safe and effective alternatives.

“When properly prescribed, antipsychotics can offer beneficial treatment for individuals suffering from mental illness,” Sen Kohl said, “however, we have a responsibility to patients and their families to ensure that elderly nursing home residents are free from all types of unnecessary drugs, and we have a responsibility to taxpayers to be certain that they are not paying for drugs that are not needed.”

The hearing highlighted two recent investigations by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG) that looked at the prevalent use of atypical antipsychotics in the face of a Food and Drug Administration “black box” warning and the high costs to taxpayers.