New York Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer from The Perecman Firm Calls for End to Over Prescription of Anti-Psychotic Drugs in Nursing Homes
Lawyer David Perecman joins the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services in calling for an end to the over prescription of anti-psychotic drugs to nursing home patients with dementia.

NEW YORK, NY, December 15, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Last week a hearing of the Senate Committee on Aging spotlighted the overuse of antipsychotic drugs among nursing home residents with dementia. The drugs, intended to calm disruptive behavior, were a costly practice that raises the risk of death, said experts who testified before the committee.

Daniel Levinson, Health and Human Services Inspector General, said more care should be taken to determine why dementia patients are acting up and to address the underlying causes that may trigger the behavior. New York nursing home abuse lawyer David Perecman agreed.

"People working in health care need more training in understanding and responding to challenging behavior in ways that don't require the use of medication," said Perecman, a nursing home abuse lawyer in New York for over 30 years.

Fox News (12/1/2011) reported that prescribing psychiatric drugs to nursing home patients with dementia is an unapproved practice that has flourished despite repeated warnings by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Office of the Inspector General found that more than 80 percent of elders on these medications in nursing homes had dementia, reported the New York Daily News.

A number of psychiatric drugs are known for their sedative effect. However, the FDA had issued a black box warning on the use of these drugs for dementia patients due to an apparent increase in the risk of death, according to webMD.com. (2008)

"Elder abuse and nursing home abuse are all too common and of very serious concern," said Perecman, founder of The Perecman Firm, one of New York's nursing home abuse law firms.

If you suspect that nursing home abuse is happening to someone close, please contact the expert New York nursing home abuse lawyers at The Perecman Firm at http://www.perecman.com.

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