Overmedication

Especially adults with chronic conditions, aging individuals are vulnerable to overmedication, through the misuse and overuse of certain medicines.

The long-term care profession, fortunately, has made key progress to diminish overmedication in nursing facilities and other skilled retirement centers, including diminishing the use of off-label antipsychotics in those with dementia.

Fortunately, individuals continue to reduce overmedication, by working together, with antibiotics, antipsychotics, and various other medicines, for aging adults to improve quality-of-life.

You and your family member can do the following:

Ensure your family member brings a comprehensive list of all medicines, over-the-counter and prescription, which he or she takes to every visit at the physician’s office.

This complete record needs to be reviewed with each healthcare provider. It is likely that medicines can be prescribed by various physicians, and they may counteract one another, or supplements over-the-counter to react adversely with prescriptions. 


Taking medicines specifically as prescribed is crucial, namely with antibiotics.

Medicines administered to a resident at a nursing home may be the responsibility of different entities and individuals, which include a pharmacy, the prescribing physician, licensed practical nurses, and registered nurses.

Managers at nursing homes are responsible for maintaining accurate records on prescriptions of residents and medicines that are over-the-counter, securing medications, and administering the medicines according to orders from the physician.

Certified nursing assistants may have responsibility to monitor residents and alert nurses to dilemmas.

Prescribed medication errors in settings of a nursing facility may entail circumstances, such as:

• A physician’s prescribing error, which a nurse overseeing neglects to notice and for which to seek correction.
• Failure of a care manager to screen medication allergies.
• Failure of a nurse to monitor medication effects, to identify indications of overmedication, or adverse drug interactions.
• Failure of nurses to recognize indications of overmedication, distress, or problems that are similar.
• Accidental of administration of incorrect doses or incorrect medications, or on schedule, a neglect to administer medication.
• By any responsible party, abuse of medication through administration of medications for purpose of controlling patients instead of medical need.

A number of cases documented have ensued in which staff members at a nursing home have robbed painkillers from residents.

This can be a criminal matter, and mean as well that the resident was neglected receiving, or won’t receive the medications intended, to further complicate plans of care.

Results of medication and prescription errors can fluctuate between minor reactions, to catastrophic endangerment of the nursing home resident’s well-being.

If your family became severely ill, admitted into a medical center, suffered debilitation that is permanent, or lost a life due to an error in a nursing home, contact an attorney with knowledge of neglect and abuse cases.

You and your loved ones may qualify for recovering damages to cover burial and funeral costs, medical expenses, and/or loss of companionship, or loss of quality of life.

Contact us for a free consultation or call Anzalone Law Firm PLLC, at: 603.548.3797.