The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International, a 57-year mental health industry watchdog, warns that vulnerable elderly residents in nursing homes continue to face serious risks of premature death from antipsychotics despite decades of reported concerns. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General recently issued two reports examining psychotropic drugging in nursing homes. In a review of 40 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services inspections, the OIG found that some facilities routinely administered antipsychotics—drugs not FDA-approved for dementia and linked to increased mortality—to control resident behavior while frequently failing to implement required safeguards.
The OIG reports addressed how some nursing homes misdiagnose residents with “schizophrenia” to bypass accountability and artificially improve public quality ratings. The OIG recommended that CMS strengthen oversight, closely monitor schizophrenia diagnosis rates, target high-risk facilities, and ensure residents and families receive clear information about antipsychotic use. Current penalties capped at $1,000 to $5,000 for false certifications are inadequate, according to CCHR International president Jan Eastgate. In 2011, OIG Inspector General Daniel Levinson declared: “Government, taxpayers, nursing home residents, as well as their families and caregivers, should be outraged—and seek solutions.”
In 2005, the FDA issued a black-box warning for antipsychotics in dementia patients due to elevated death risks. In 2007, FDA senior drug safety official Dr. David Graham warned that at least 15,000 nursing home residents die annually from these drugs. A 2024 American Association of Retired Persons report found that in people with dementia aged 50 and older, antipsychotics more than doubled the risk of pneumonia—the leading cause of death in this population—while also increasing risks of stroke, acute kidney injury, blood clots, bone fractures, heart attack, and heart failure. In 2019-2020, roughly 20% of skilled nursing facility residents—about 298,650 people weekly—received antipsychotics. A House Ways and Means report described the crisis as “one of patient harm, inadequate oversight, and insufficient staffing.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.financialcontent.com/article/prlog-2026-4-24-cchr-says-new-oig-report-raises-concerns-about-drugging-elderly-with-antipsychotics