Phony diagnoses hide high rates of drugging at nursing homes.

Newspaper/Magazine Article

Phony diagnoses hide high rates of drugging at nursing homes.

September 22, 2021

Thomas K, Gebeloff R, Silver-Greenberg J. New York Times. September 11, 2021.

Nursing home medication misuse is a contributor to resident harm. This story highlights system influences such as staffing shortages, reporting failures and normalization of prescribing behaviors that coincide with the misuse of antipsychotic medications and overdiagnosis of schizophrenia.

Free full text

Related Resources From the Same Author(s)

How nursing homes’ worst offenses are hidden from the public.

December 22, 2021

In U.S. nursing homes, where Covid-19 killed scores, even reports of maggots and rape don’t dock five-star ratings.

March 24, 2021

The wrong foot, and other tales of surgical error.

January 20, 2010

Whistle-blowing nurse is acquitted in Texas.

February 24, 2010

Using the web or an app instead of seeing a doctor? Caution is advised.

July 20, 2016

An infection, unnoticed, turns unstoppable.

July 25, 2012

One doctor. 25 deaths. How could it have happened?

October 30, 2019

Drug shortages persist in US, harming care.

November 28, 2012

To eliminate bias, some seek out doctors of their own race or ethnicity.

December 22, 2021

At surgery clinic, rush to save Joan Rivers's life.

September 24, 2014

The risks of the prescribing cascade.

September 16, 2020

Small patients, big consequences in medical errors.

September 24, 2008

My life was upended for 35 years by a cancer diagnosis. A doctor just told me I was misdiagnosed.

April 7, 2021

Medicare cuts payment to 774 hospitals over patient complications.

March 3, 2021

A night in the hospital, from both ends of the stethoscope.

January 20, 2021

Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World.

June 23, 2021

Care and Oversight Deficiencies Related to Multiple Homicides at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

May 26, 2021

Closing Death’s Door: Legal Innovations to End the Epidemic of Healthcare Harm.

July 7, 2021

Charlie Bourg was on the lookout for veterans harmed by a new VA computer system. He didn’t expect to be one of them.

September 21, 2022

Implantable infusion pumps in the magnetic resonance (MR) environment: FDA safety communication—important safety precautions.

January 25, 2017

FDA Drug Safety Communication: FDA requires labeling changes for prescription opioid cough and cold medicines to limit their use to adults 18 years and older.

February 7, 2018

Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery.

June 17, 2015

Mirror, Mirror 2021: Reflecting Poorly

August 1, 2021

Emergency department crowding: the canary in the health care system.

November 3, 2021

Important information for the safe use of Tussionex Pennkinetic Extended-Release Suspension.

March 26, 2008

Requires DHSS to make reported information about certain adverse events publicly available.

June 27, 2007

As doctors age, worries about their ability grow.

February 9, 2011

Radiation offers new cures, and ways to do harm.

February 3, 2010

Prone to error: earliest steps to find cancer.

July 28, 2010

Aftercare tips for patients checking out of the hospital.

June 30, 2010

An E.R. kicks the habit of opioids for pain.

December 14, 2016

Most dangerous time at the hospital? It may be when you leave.

March 30, 2016

Drug shortages forcing hard decisions on rationing treatments.

February 10, 2016

Bring back the autopsy.

March 16, 2016

Your new medical team: algorithms and physicians.

December 16, 2015

Service members are left in dark on health errors.

April 29, 2015

Over-the-counter medicines' benefits and dangers.

December 9, 2015

Getting the diagnosis wrong.

October 21, 2015

Afraid to speak up to medical power.

February 27, 2013

Death of a boy prompts new medical efforts nationwide.

November 7, 2012

In a culture of disrespect, patients lose out.

July 31, 2013

My human doctor.

October 17, 2018

When is the surgeon too old to operate?

February 13, 2019

Doctors were alarmed: would I have my children have surgery here?

June 12, 2019

Bad hospital design is making us sicker.

March 8, 2017

A boy's life is lost to sepsis. Thousands are saved in his wake.

April 26, 2017

In redesigned room, hospital patients may feel better already.

September 3, 2014

FDA begins inquiry after death and illness from saline bags meant for training.

January 28, 2015

Why false positives merit concern, too.

November 4, 2020

A deadly epidural, delivered by a doctor with a history of mistakes.

February 1, 2023

ER doctors misdiagnose patients with unusual symptoms.

January 18, 2023

Investigators find hospital error caused mother’s death in Brooklyn.

January 24, 2024

Doctors wrestle with A.I. in patient care, citing lax oversight.

November 8, 2023

Faced with a drug shortfall, doctors scramble to treat children with cancer.

November 6, 2019

Why doctors still offer treatments that may not help.

September 4, 2019

At Walgreens, complaints of medication errors go missing.

March 11, 2020

How chaos at chain pharmacies is putting patients at risk.

February 19, 2020

I can't turn my brain off.

May 27, 2020

Some hospitals call 911 to save their patients.

April 11, 2007

Medicare says it won't cover hospital errors.

August 22, 2007

Inquiry into reporter's death finds multiple failures in care.

July 5, 2006

The consumer: and now, a warning about labels.

November 9, 2005

Hospital errors jeopardize Angola virus battle.

May 11, 2005

Buried answers.

May 11, 2005

Don't underestimate the impact of change on risk potential.

September 24, 2008

The phantom menace of sleep-deprived doctors.

August 24, 2011

Ireland investigates cervical cancer screening scandal.

May 16, 2018

Healing the hospital hierarchy.

March 27, 2013

Surgical checklists save lives—but once in a while, they don't. Why?

May 23, 2018

Using A.I. to detect breast cancer that doctors miss.

March 15, 2023

Missed signals.

May 16, 2007

Good for You, Good for Us, Good for Everybody.

October 6, 2021

The pain was unbearable. So why did doctors turn her away?

August 25, 2021

Checking the right boxes, but failing the patient.

December 2, 2009

Reducing preventable harm in hospitals.

February 3, 2016

At Bellevue, a desperate fight to ensure the patients' safety.

November 14, 2012

In military care, a pattern of errors but not scrutiny.

July 9, 2014

How common mental shortcuts can cause major physician errors.

March 4, 2020

Physician, say you're sorry.

December 10, 2008

FDA Safety Communication: flexible bronchoscopes and updated recommendations for reprocessing.

February 24, 2022 - February 24, 2022

Scant oversight of drug maker in fatal meningitis outbreak.

October 17, 2012

The Retrievals.

August 9, 2023

Peer Support Toolkit.

September 29, 2021

Internal Bleeding: The Truth Behind America's Terrifying Epidemic of Medical Mistakes. Updated edition.

March 27, 2005

Bearing the Burden: Black Mothers in America.

May 26, 2021

Analysis of transdermal medication patch errors uncovers a “patchwork” of safety challenges.

March 24, 2021

Patient Safety: Research into Practice.

September 13, 2006

Updated guidance needed for longstanding large volume parenteral (LVP) labeling and packaging problems.

March 3, 2021

FDA Safety Communication: update--robotically-assisted surgical devices in mastectomy.

August 20, 2021

Hospira issues a voluntary nationwide recall for one lot of 0.5% Bupivacaine Hydrochloride Injection, USP and one lot of 1% Lidocaine HCl Injection, USP due to mislabeling.

May 19, 2021

Meitheal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. issues voluntary nationwide recall of Cisatracurium Besylate Injection, USP 10mg per 5mL due to mislabeling.

February 10, 2021

Potential for medication overdose with ENFit low dose tip syringe: FDA Safety Communication.

October 20, 2021

Cardinal Health recalls Argyle UVC insertion tray due to missing instructions for use for the Safety Scalpel N11.

September 1, 2021

The Contribution of Diagnostic Errors to Maternal Morbidity and Mortality During and Immediately After Childbirth: State of the Science.

October 6, 2021

Still Not Safe: Patient Safety and the Middle-Managing of American Medicine.

December 18, 2019

Safety, Equity and Engagement in Maternity Services.

January 12, 2022

A Thematic Analysis of HSIB's First 22 Investigations.

September 29, 2021

Using ventilator splitters during the COVID-19 pandemic--letter to health care providers.

February 17, 2021

Fear of Covid-19 leads other patients to decline critical treatment.

June 3, 2020

Building a Culture of Patient Safety Through Simulation: An Interprofessional Learning Model.

June 10, 2015

Related Resources

FDA urged to move faster to fix pulse oximeters for darker-skinned patients.

February 14, 2024

National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports.

January 9, 2024

Millions of people used tainted breathing machines. The FDA failed to use its power to protect them.

December 20, 2023

California pharmacies are making millions of mistakes. They’re fighting to keep that secret.

September 20, 2023

Inside the preventable deaths that happened within a prominent transplant center.

June 28, 2023

Hospitals in two states denied an abortion to a miscarrying patient. Investigators say they broke federal law.

May 31, 2023

Why do so many Black women die in pregnancy? One reason: doctors don't take them seriously.

May 31, 2023

Death Inside Lemuel Shattuck Hospital: A Case Study on Medical Treatment for Persons with Mental Health Disabilities.

May 24, 2023

Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2023.

May 10, 2023

Saving Moms.

April 19, 2023

Minnesota lets nurses practice while disciplinary investigations drag on. Patients keep getting hurt.

April 12, 2023

Crisis in the Lakeshore Hospital ER.

March 8, 2023

Long-Term Trends of Psychotropic Drug Use in Nursing Homes.

February 1, 2023

Bleeding and in pain, a pregnant woman in Louisiana couldn’t get answers.

January 25, 2023

During in-flight emergencies, sometimes airlines’ medical kits fall short.

January 18, 2023

ER doctors misdiagnose patients with unusual symptoms.

January 18, 2023

From heart disease to IUDs: how doctors dismiss women’s pain.

December 21, 2022

Walgreens will stop judging its pharmacy staffers by how fast they work.

November 9, 2022

‘They can’t ignore us any more’: five women on long Covid and medical misogyny.

October 26, 2022

Position Statement on Criminalization of Medical Error and Call for Action to Prevent Patient Harm from Error.

October 26, 2022

People of color with long COVID face uphill battle to be heard.

October 12, 2022

COVID-19 in Nursing Homes: CMS Needs to Continue to Strengthen Oversight of Infection Prevention and Control.

October 12, 2022

Embedded bias: how medical records sow discrimination.

October 5, 2022

When medical error becomes personal, activism becomes painful.

September 28, 2022

Abortion bans have consequences for wanted pregnancies, too.

August 17, 2022

A California man’s ‘painful and terrifying’ road to a Monkeypox diagnosis.

August 17, 2022

Stop using these adult bed rails, warns the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

June 15, 2022

The Color of Care.

May 11, 2022

Woman works to end Black maternal health crisis after daughter dies after giving birth.

April 27, 2022

The National Imperative to Improve Nursing Home Quality: Honoring Our Commitment to Residents, Families, and Staff.

April 20, 2022

See More About The Topic

Medication Errors/Preventable Adverse Drug Events

Phony diagnoses hide high rates of drugging at nursing homes.

Connect With Us

Sign up for Email Updates

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Phony diagnoses hide high rates of drugging at nursing homes.

Connect With Us

Sign up for Email Updates

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Submit Your Innovations

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your Innovations

Continue as a Guest

Continue logged in

New Users to the PSNet site