Community Corner
Antipsychotic Drug-Use Rate Dropping in State's Nursing Homes
The FDA has said the drugs can be harmful to those with dementia and have spearheaded a campaign to lower the percentage of patients taking them.
The percentage of nursing-home patients in Connecticut receiving antipsychotic drugs has fallen by 14 percent since 2011, according to a report in the Hartford Courant.
In early 2011, 25.72 percent of nursing-home patients received the drugs. But due in part to a federal push to reduce their use, especially for "off-label" uses such as calming a patient who can't be controlled, that percentage dwindled in 2013 to 22.38.
Antipsychotics, while helpful for some patients with specific conditions, have been blamed by the FDA for having potentially harmful side effects for patients with dementia.
Connecticut still has the 18th-highest rate of antipsychotics use in the country, but that's down from 16th-highest in 2011. From 2005 to 2010, it was ranked in the top four.
To view a database chock full of information on Connecticut's nursing homes, see the Connecticut Health I-Team website.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
