Long-term living locations catered to seniors are often referred to as “skilled nursing facilities” (nursing homes) and “assisted living facilities.” The basic distinction between these types of homes is the level of care provided to residents. Assisted living facilities provide only general aid, perhaps with meals, cleaning, laundry, and other day to day tasks. Conversely, skilled nursing facilities can provide actual medical care. Seniors with more serious health care issues usually need the support that is provided at a traditional nursing home instead of an assisted living facility.
However, the fact that skilled nursing facilities are able to provide some medical care also means that they may commit medical malpractice. One of the most common ways this happens is when nurses and aides make errors with regard to medication. Obviously many seniors in long-term care facilities rely on the various medications to help control different medical issues. When medication is not provided properly, serious harm can result.
A recent Legal Examiner story touched on that very issue. The article points to a study that we have referenced before from the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. That research project found a significant number of medication problem in nursing homes. As noted, the most eye-popping statistics from the research effort is that observers identified that about 21.2% of all dispensals of medication involved some error.