British Nursing Home Care Inadequate, Study Finds

April 10, 2003
Researchers in the United Kingdom sought to assess the quality of care given to elderly people and compare the care given to residents in nursing homes with those living in their own homes.

Result of their study: The overall standard of care was inadequate when judged against quality indicators, irrespective of where the individuals lived.

Findings included:

• The overall prescribing of beneficial drugs for some conditions was deficient -- for example, only 38% of patients were prescribed beta blockers after myocardial infarction.
• The proportion of patients with heart disease or diabetes who had had their blood pressure measured in the past two years (heart disease) or past year (diabetes) was lower among those living in nursing homes.
• In terms of potentially harmful prescribing, significantly more patients in nursing homes were prescribed neuroleptic medication and laxatives.
• Nursing home residents were less likely to have the appropriate diagnostic Read code linked to their prescribed neuroleptic drug.

The study's authors said that better coordinated care for nursing home patients would avoid the problems of overuse of unnecessary or harmful drugs, underuse of beneficial drugs, and poor monitoring of chronic disease.