Category: Elder Drug Abuse

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Overmedication A Real Danger For All Seniors Nursing Home Residents and Anti-Psychotic Drugs Overmedication of nursing home residents has become a terrible problem in this country. Many of the drugs are unnecessary. One recent study concluded that nursing homes administer unnecessary antipsychotic drugs to 179,000 patients every week. […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Terrible Dangers of Opioids for Seniors Our country is in the midst of an opioid epidemic. A staggering 78 Americans die every day from drug overdoses, 2/3 of which involve opioids. America’s elderly are caught up in the epidemic too: opioid prescriptions to seniors increased nine-fold over a […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Opiods and Elder Abuse The opioid epidemic in America has brought about profound changes in many aspects of healthcare, the justice system, law enforcement, and mental health. As professionals from these areas try to cope with the extent to which opioids and opioid users affect their duties, it […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER In the wake of Governor Jerry Brown’s signing of the End of Life Option Act, California has become the sixth state in the US to allow physician assisted suicide. While the bill offers those in excruciating pain or discomfort the agency to end their own lives, some disability […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Though long overdue, the field of Elder Justice just got a new playbook. Prepared from a survey of hundreds of stakeholders, funded by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services, and compiled by top experts in the field, the Elder Justice Roadmap lays […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER According to the Administration of Aging, (AoA) elder abuse is the knowing, intentional, or negligent act by anyone that causes harm or a serious risk of harm to a vulnerable adult. Elder abuse can come in many forms such as abandonment, neglect, physical, financial, and emotional abuse. There […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER There is great concern about increased antipsychotic use on the elderly in nursing homes. Elders who are prescribed these drugs are placed at an increased risk of heart failure, autoimmune diseases, and even death. However, between 10 to 30 percent of long-stay residents in U.S. nursing homes are […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that antipsychotic medications should not be used on elderly people with dementia.  Prescribing such drugs to the elderly can hasten death.  Yet, medical experts and federal regulators say antipsychotic drugs are being used to at an alarming rate by nursing homes […]