Popular on EntSun
- Top Edu-Tainment IP, Badanamu, enters children's mental health space, launching Healthy Kids Music Network - 449
- Jewellok Unveils Cutting-Edge Specialty Gas Changeover Manifolds to Revolutionize Industrial and Medical Gas Delivery - 443
- Buildout Unveils Rethink+: Revolutionizing Commercial Real Estate Prospecting with Seamless CRM Integration - 436
- HollyShorts Film Festival Celebrates 21 Years and selects '12 HOURS' For 2025 line-up - 427
- Final Clearance to Close Dura Medical Acquisition from Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA); $750 Million Ketamine Therapy Market - 423
- Vitanergy Health US Inc. Launches Three New Dietary Supplements to Support Women's Daily Wellness - 411
- Phinge®, Home of Netverse® and Netaverse™ With Verified and Safer AI Announces "Test the Waters" Campaign for Potential Regulation A+ Offering - 367
- EMBER™, the Only Standardized System Linking Workforce Identity to Growth, Appoints Global Brand Visionary Bret Sanford-Chung to Board of Directors - 364
- $3 Billion Suicidal Depression Market Advancements on Multiple Fronts, Highlighted by FDA Fast Track Designation for Effective NRX 100 Drug Therapy - 360
- Ubleu Crypto Group Achieves FinCEN Registration and Colorado Incorporation, Accelerating U.S. Market Entry - 340
Similar on EntSun
- BusinessRate Selects New Jersey Therapy & Life Coaching as Best Couselors
- Lineus Medical and Venture Medical Sign New Zealand Distribution Agreement
- Portland Med Spa Expands Service Offerings with Latest Aesthetic Technologies
- The Squires Group Becomes a Workday Partner
- Mrs. Field's Closet Expands to Minot North High School
- Wohler announces release of a new innovative MPEG SRT, H.264 and H.265 HEVC Audio & Video monitor
- Historic Agreement Reached Between The Providence Foundation And City Of San Francisco Paves Way For Stronger Community Resources For The Homeless
- EIG Global Trust Unveils Groundbreaking Gold Backed Digital Currency Stablecoin Ecosystem Poised to Accelerate the Global Digital Asset Transformation
- Lowcountry Male and AquaVitae Announce New Clinic Opening in Savannah, Georgia
- CCHR Warns Global Survey Confirms Electroshock Risks Hidden From Public
Profiting from Elder Harm: The Push to End Psychiatric Drugging in Nursing Homes
EntSun News/11062855
CCHR demands a ban on nursing home chemical restraints and full accountability for prescribers and facilities
LOS ANGELES - EntSun -- Federal health authorities are sounding the alarm over the chronic use of antipsychotic and psychotropic drugs in America's nursing homes. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has prioritized enforcement actions to reduce psychotropic prescribing—especially among seniors with dementia. With over 15,000 facilities nationwide housing more than 1.2 million elderly residents, mental health watchdog Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) warns the unchecked drugging of seniors constitutes systemic elder abuse.[1]
CCHR is urging lawmakers to adopt the recommendations of a United Nations human rights expert, Claudia Mahler, who called for prohibiting chemical restraints—drugs used to control behavior—in aged-care settings. Mahler's report criticized the drugging of seniors in care facilities, asserting that older persons are "more likely to be deprived of liberty in care facilities than in prisons." She further warned that antipsychotic use in dementia can double the risk of death.[2]
Although the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes reported a reduction in antipsychotic use among long-stay residents—from 30.1% in 2011 to 14.5% by the end of 2021—those figures obscure concerning patterns of diagnosis manipulation. For instance, some nursing homes labeled seniors with schizophrenia, a diagnosis virtually unheard of in the elderly, to continue prescribing antipsychotics despite federal restrictions.[3]
Federal Warnings Ignored, Harm Continues
Warnings about the dangers of these drugs have spanned decades. In 2007, FDA safety official Dr. David Graham estimated at least 15,000 nursing home residents die each year due to antipsychotic use.[4] Dr. Peter Gøtzsche, a Danish physician and internationally recognized expert on pharmaceutical safety, places the toll from psychiatric drugs—including neuroleptics, benzodiazepines, and antidepressants—at approximately 209,000 deaths annually among Americans 65 and older. Sleep medications may contribute to an additional 320,000 to 507,000 deaths per year. Even short-term use has serious consequences. Studies show that for every 100 dementia patients prescribed newer antipsychotics over just ten weeks, one will die. Combining a benzodiazepine with a neuroleptic can increase mortality risk by as much as 65%.[5]
More on EntSun News
Despite federal regulations dating back to 1987 that prohibit psychotropic use for staff convenience or discipline, enforcement has been lax. In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a black-box warning linking antipsychotics to death in dementia patients prompting some prescribers to sidestep restrictions by re-diagnosing patients.[6] Between 2015 and 2019, schizophrenia diagnoses among nursing home residents rose 194%—an implausible increase, attributed to efforts to preserve prescribing authority.[7]
In 2021, a New York Times investigation revealed that 21% of residents were still being given antipsychotics, often based on unsupported or false diagnoses. In 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched new measures to identify facilities inflating diagnostic codes to justify drug use—but the problem persists.[8]
Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising has also fueled drug overuse among seniors. A 2021 study found that television ads heavily influenced seniors' prescription decisions, especially in areas with high Medicare enrollment. Between 2006 and 2017, $528 million was spent promoting one antipsychotic.[9] In June 2025, the End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act was introduced to ban DTCA.
Psychotropic drug use in long-term care facilities is a human rights crisis. Studies show that roughly 16% of nursing home residents experience abuse, yet only 1 in 24 cases is reported. Disturbingly, up to 40% of staff admit to having psychologically abused residents.[10]
Reforms Urgently Needed
The ongoing harm inflicted on elderly residents is not an isolated lapse but a failure of oversight, ethics, and accountability, tantamount to elder abuse. CCHR urges U.S. legislators and regulators to implement such reforms as:
More on EntSun News
CCHR, established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry Dr. Thomas Szasz, urges Congress and state legislatures to outlaw chemical restraints in aged care and demand accountability from prescribers and nursing homes. "The nation's elderly deserve compassion and safety, not sedation, and dignity not death by prescription," Eastgate said.
Sources:
[1] Poliakoff & Associates, P.A., "Nursing Home Oversight and Antipsychotic Drug Use," 12 June 2025, gpoliakoff.com/nursing-home-oversight-and-antipsychotic-drug-use/
[2] Bridget Sleap, "'Chemical Restraints' Deprive Older People of Liberty," Human Rights Watch, 19 Sept. 2022, www.hrw.org/news/2022/09/19/chemical-restraints-deprive-older-people-liberty
[3] Carl Dimitri, "Brown Study Challenges Common Perceptions of Antipsychotic Use in Nursing Homes," Brown University School of Public Health, 5 Sept. 2024, sph.brown.edu/news/2024-09-05/nursing-homes-antipsychotics
[4] Testimony by Dr. David Graham, House Hearing, 110th Congress – The Adequacy of FDA to Assure the Safety of the Nation's Drug Supply General, 13 Feb. 2007, www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-110hhrg35502/pdf/CHRG-110hhrg35502.pdf, p. 66
[5] Peter C. Gøtzsche, "Prescription Drugs Are the Leading Cause of Death," Brownstone Institute, 16 Apr. 2024, brownstone.org/articles/prescription-drugs-are-the-leading-cause-of-death/
[6] Katie Thomas, Robert Gebeloff and Jessica Silver-Greenberg "Phony Diagnoses Hide High Rates of Drugging at Nursing Homes," The New York Times, 16 Sept. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/09/11/health/nursing-homes-schizophrenia-antipsychotics.html
[7] "Long-Term Trends of Psychotropic Drug Use in Nursing Homes," Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, 11 Nov. 2022, oig.hhs.gov/reports/all/2022/long-term-trends-of-psychotropic-drug-use-in-nursing-homes/
[8] Katie Thomas, Robert Gebeloff and Jessica Silver-Greenberg "Phony Diagnoses Hide High Rates of Drugging at Nursing Homes," The New York Times, 16 Sept. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/09/11/health/nursing-homes-schizophrenia-antipsychotics.html
[9] Robin Feldman, "Physicians Treating Alzheimer's Disease Patients Should Be Aware that Televised Direct-to-Consumer Advertising Links More Strongly to Drug Utilization in Older Patients," Jour. Alzheimers Dis. June 2021, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8293633/
[10] Usama Khan, "Elder Abuse Statistics," Retirement Living Journal of Retirement Research, 19 May 2025, www.retirementliving.com/nursing-care-facilities/elder-abuse-statistics
CCHR is urging lawmakers to adopt the recommendations of a United Nations human rights expert, Claudia Mahler, who called for prohibiting chemical restraints—drugs used to control behavior—in aged-care settings. Mahler's report criticized the drugging of seniors in care facilities, asserting that older persons are "more likely to be deprived of liberty in care facilities than in prisons." She further warned that antipsychotic use in dementia can double the risk of death.[2]
Although the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes reported a reduction in antipsychotic use among long-stay residents—from 30.1% in 2011 to 14.5% by the end of 2021—those figures obscure concerning patterns of diagnosis manipulation. For instance, some nursing homes labeled seniors with schizophrenia, a diagnosis virtually unheard of in the elderly, to continue prescribing antipsychotics despite federal restrictions.[3]
Federal Warnings Ignored, Harm Continues
Warnings about the dangers of these drugs have spanned decades. In 2007, FDA safety official Dr. David Graham estimated at least 15,000 nursing home residents die each year due to antipsychotic use.[4] Dr. Peter Gøtzsche, a Danish physician and internationally recognized expert on pharmaceutical safety, places the toll from psychiatric drugs—including neuroleptics, benzodiazepines, and antidepressants—at approximately 209,000 deaths annually among Americans 65 and older. Sleep medications may contribute to an additional 320,000 to 507,000 deaths per year. Even short-term use has serious consequences. Studies show that for every 100 dementia patients prescribed newer antipsychotics over just ten weeks, one will die. Combining a benzodiazepine with a neuroleptic can increase mortality risk by as much as 65%.[5]
More on EntSun News
- Where Are They Now Radio Show Celebrates 5-Year Anniversary on WCPT-820AM
- Brash Enterprises Launches Brash & Bold Future Speak YouTube Channel
- Integris Composites Joins Pacific Future Forum in Tokyo
- Brash Enterprises LLC Launches Brash & Bold Studios: A Minimalist Media Company for Unfiltered Storytelling
- Artest Management Group Celebrates Successful Launch at LA Creator Space
Despite federal regulations dating back to 1987 that prohibit psychotropic use for staff convenience or discipline, enforcement has been lax. In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a black-box warning linking antipsychotics to death in dementia patients prompting some prescribers to sidestep restrictions by re-diagnosing patients.[6] Between 2015 and 2019, schizophrenia diagnoses among nursing home residents rose 194%—an implausible increase, attributed to efforts to preserve prescribing authority.[7]
In 2021, a New York Times investigation revealed that 21% of residents were still being given antipsychotics, often based on unsupported or false diagnoses. In 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched new measures to identify facilities inflating diagnostic codes to justify drug use—but the problem persists.[8]
Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising has also fueled drug overuse among seniors. A 2021 study found that television ads heavily influenced seniors' prescription decisions, especially in areas with high Medicare enrollment. Between 2006 and 2017, $528 million was spent promoting one antipsychotic.[9] In June 2025, the End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act was introduced to ban DTCA.
Psychotropic drug use in long-term care facilities is a human rights crisis. Studies show that roughly 16% of nursing home residents experience abuse, yet only 1 in 24 cases is reported. Disturbingly, up to 40% of staff admit to having psychologically abused residents.[10]
Reforms Urgently Needed
The ongoing harm inflicted on elderly residents is not an isolated lapse but a failure of oversight, ethics, and accountability, tantamount to elder abuse. CCHR urges U.S. legislators and regulators to implement such reforms as:
- Prohibit the use of antipsychotics and other psychotropics for behavioral control in seniors.
- Enforce civil, financial, and criminal penalties for physicians and facility administrators who violate this prohibition.
- Prohibit doctors from accepting gifts, payments, or perks from pharmaceutical companies while treating patients.
- End DTC advertising
- End pharmaceutical industry funding of the FDA to restore independent oversight.
- Abolish the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as the central authority for mental health diagnoses, due to its authors' longstanding ties to drug manufacturers.
More on EntSun News
- Doberman Pup Explores Off-Grid Island in New Outdoor Adventure Release
- Sandbox Studio South Proudly Presents Jackson County Line Live in Concert on Youtube: @SandboxStudioSouth
- BusinessRate Selects New Jersey Therapy & Life Coaching as Best Couselors
- IRL Investigations Combines Decades of Experience with Modern Digital Expertise
- New Leadership Model – Never Fire Anyone – Released Today
CCHR, established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry Dr. Thomas Szasz, urges Congress and state legislatures to outlaw chemical restraints in aged care and demand accountability from prescribers and nursing homes. "The nation's elderly deserve compassion and safety, not sedation, and dignity not death by prescription," Eastgate said.
Sources:
[1] Poliakoff & Associates, P.A., "Nursing Home Oversight and Antipsychotic Drug Use," 12 June 2025, gpoliakoff.com/nursing-home-oversight-and-antipsychotic-drug-use/
[2] Bridget Sleap, "'Chemical Restraints' Deprive Older People of Liberty," Human Rights Watch, 19 Sept. 2022, www.hrw.org/news/2022/09/19/chemical-restraints-deprive-older-people-liberty
[3] Carl Dimitri, "Brown Study Challenges Common Perceptions of Antipsychotic Use in Nursing Homes," Brown University School of Public Health, 5 Sept. 2024, sph.brown.edu/news/2024-09-05/nursing-homes-antipsychotics
[4] Testimony by Dr. David Graham, House Hearing, 110th Congress – The Adequacy of FDA to Assure the Safety of the Nation's Drug Supply General, 13 Feb. 2007, www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-110hhrg35502/pdf/CHRG-110hhrg35502.pdf, p. 66
[5] Peter C. Gøtzsche, "Prescription Drugs Are the Leading Cause of Death," Brownstone Institute, 16 Apr. 2024, brownstone.org/articles/prescription-drugs-are-the-leading-cause-of-death/
[6] Katie Thomas, Robert Gebeloff and Jessica Silver-Greenberg "Phony Diagnoses Hide High Rates of Drugging at Nursing Homes," The New York Times, 16 Sept. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/09/11/health/nursing-homes-schizophrenia-antipsychotics.html
[7] "Long-Term Trends of Psychotropic Drug Use in Nursing Homes," Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, 11 Nov. 2022, oig.hhs.gov/reports/all/2022/long-term-trends-of-psychotropic-drug-use-in-nursing-homes/
[8] Katie Thomas, Robert Gebeloff and Jessica Silver-Greenberg "Phony Diagnoses Hide High Rates of Drugging at Nursing Homes," The New York Times, 16 Sept. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/09/11/health/nursing-homes-schizophrenia-antipsychotics.html
[9] Robin Feldman, "Physicians Treating Alzheimer's Disease Patients Should Be Aware that Televised Direct-to-Consumer Advertising Links More Strongly to Drug Utilization in Older Patients," Jour. Alzheimers Dis. June 2021, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8293633/
[10] Usama Khan, "Elder Abuse Statistics," Retirement Living Journal of Retirement Research, 19 May 2025, www.retirementliving.com/nursing-care-facilities/elder-abuse-statistics
Source: Citizens Commission on Human Rights International
Filed Under: Health
0 Comments
Latest on EntSun News
- Phinge's® One-Of-A-Kind Modular Earbuds With Stylish Interchangeable Battery Modules & Dual Charging Case Available Soon for Pre-Sale
- Victoria Carson's Powerful Anthems of Justice!
- Growth Acceleration via Strategic Reverse Split After $10 Million Acquisition for Concerts.com and TicketStub.com; AI Powered Sports/Entertainment Co
- OddsTrader Projects Three Potential Elimination Games in Week 1 of College Football
- Century Fasteners Corp. Exhibiting at the 2025 International Fastener Expo
- 2 Funny Native Comedy Night Comes To Kwa Tuq Nuk Casino
- Canvas Cloud AI Launches to Transform Cloud Education From Memorization to Mastery
- The Squires Group Becomes a Workday Partner
- Voices for Humanity Stands Up for Human Rights with Isabelle Vladoiu
- Meet a Scientologist Reveals the Art of Leather Alchemy with Iccio and Michele Leonelli
- From Comedy To Culture: Ali Siddiq And Terri J. Vaughn Embrace Living Differently
- From Vernon Hills to Mensa Before Kindergarten
- Fine Arts Festival Downtown Downers Grove
- PermianMuseum.com adds Interstellar Visitor Video Gallery
- What if Cinderella Left the Ball Drunk, Heartbroken, and Tangled in a Love Triangle?
- SOBREO Elixirs Debut in New York City, Defining a New Era in Inclusive Hospitality
- Comedy Hypnotist comes to San Antonio's Deco Ballroom September 5 & 6 with his Mind Boggling Tour
- Allen Field to Showcase Sustainable Paper Handle Applicator at PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2025
- Riverdale receives grant to bring accessibility to Clark Park
- 9th Annual A Taste of the Deep South Festival Announces the Talent Line-up and Sponsors