Serious nursing home quality problems still exist

Fri, 16 May 2008 06:59:57 -0400

According to new Congressional testimony by officials from the HHS inspector general's office, care at many nursing homes is actually dangerous to patients, despite ongoing efforts by CMS to identify and expose such problems. Lewis Morris, chief counsel to HHS' inspector general, told the House Energy and Commerce oversight and investigations subcommittee that at least one in five nursing homes delivers care that is directly harmful to patients.

At the same hearing, the Government Accountability Office released a report suggesting that state nursing home inspectors routinely miss life-threatening problems such as whether homes ensure proper nutrition and hydration.

Meanwhile, at the same hearing, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal described how difficult it was to force nursing home owners into compliance even when their quality problems were known. His particular battle with nursing home operator Haven Healthcare demonstrated to him that with the complex ownership structures employed by such homes' operating companies, it could be almost impossible to win this kind of battle, Blumenthal said.

Despite having failed to address nursing home issues for more than 20 years, Congress is expected to respond to these and other reports with new rules sometime this year.

To learn more about the nursing home investigation:
- read this Modern Healthcare article (reg. req.)

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CT Attorney General sues FDA over OxyContin

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:59:57 -0400

Following on years of attempts to urge the FDA into action, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has filed a suit in federal court that attempts to force the FDA to issue stronger warnings about OxyContin dosing. In 2003, Blumenthal mounted an investigation into the drug's labeling and use, concluding that while the drug is designed for 12-hour dosing, drug maker Purdue Pharma knew that 20 percent of the time, it was prescribed to be used in dosing intervals of eight hours or less. The next year, Blumenthal filed a "citizen petition" with the FDA asking that it issue warnings related to OxyContin dosing, but the FDA didn't respond as he had hoped. The new lawsuit asks the court to find that the FDA's failure to respond to the petition was unlawful, and forces it to issue stronger warnings on OxyContin prescribing. Purdue already has been hit with more than $600 million in fines after regulators concluded that it had misrepresented the risks of using the drug.

To learn more about the case:
- read this press release