Study Finds Overuse of Antipsychotics in Dementia Patients

Federal investigators say they have found evidence of widespread overuse of psychiatric drugs by older Americans with Alzheimer's disease, and are recommending that Medicare officials take immediate action to reduce unnecessary prescriptions.

Alzheimer’s disease

Medicare

Federal investigators say they have found evidence of widespread overuse of psychiatric drugs by older Americans with , and are recommending that officials take immediate action to reduce unnecessary prescriptions.

Government Accountability Office

nursing homes

dementia

The findings will be released Monday by the , an arm of Congress, and come as the Obama administration has already been working with to reduce the inappropriate use of antipsychotic medications like Abilify, Risperdal, Zyprexa, and clozapine. But in the study, investigators said officials also needed to focus on overuse of such drugs by people with who live at home or in assisted living facilities.

Read more at The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1B55sDP