1/ This scandal—misuse of the diagnosis 'schizophrenia' to hide the use of high-risk drugs in the elderly—is a crisis for psychiatry. We need to speak out—and demand the disciplining of doctors who misdiagnose to hide understaffing.
nytimes.com/2021/09/11/hea…
nytimes.com/2021/09/11/hea…
2/ That said, the scandal appears to arise from well-intentioned policy-making. You don't want to punish nursing homes that admit residents with mental illnesses or neurological disorders. Changing the metrics will only risk further unintended problems.
3/ Perhaps misdiagnosis should itself be a metric so that nursing homes that engage in it are downgraded and punished. (No institution should see a lot of schizophrenia that emerges in late life.) That move would require further expert oversight, to pre-COVID levels and beyond.
4/ Kudos to @nytimes for the exposé. Outstanding reporting—and please don't let the issue fade away.
Drugs and diagnoses are being misused, families are being mislead, corrupt nursing homes & professionals are flourishing, and people are dying—losing months & years of life.
Drugs and diagnoses are being misused, families are being mislead, corrupt nursing homes & professionals are flourishing, and people are dying—losing months & years of life.
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