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Abstract: 

The previous article, in 13(4) VED, laid out the basic issues discussed at a March 24, 2010, hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Aging. On October 1, 2010, as a result of the nursing home industry’s making a case for greater flexibility, so as to alleviate residents’ suffering more quickly, the DEA published a policy statement in the Federal Register, making some changes in the ability of nursing homes to expedite the issuance of certain medications that are controlled substances. It is clear that nursing home residents often suffer pain—including severe, acute pain for which physicians seek to prescribe narcotics—that, in many instances, is not properly controlled. Patient advocates and the health-care industry alike are seeking rule changes that will permit nursing homes to have a faster and more flexible response to patients’ needs for pain medication. However, the problem would be somewhat alleviated if nursing homes had a greater physician presence— which, for reasons of cost, they are reluctant to provide.

Keywords: nursing home industry

Affiliations:  1: Editor, Victimization of the Elderly and Disabled.