A disturbing new government study indicates that a high number of nursing home residents are receiving inappropriately prescribed medications that increase their risk of death.

The report -- authored by the Health and Human Services ("HHS") inspector general -- finds specifically that medication errors often bring tragic results for patients suffering from dementia, since they frequently receive antipsychotic drugs that are expressly disapproved by the FDA for use on patients with dementia.

Those drugs include Zyprexa, Seroquel and Risperdal, which the government states bring an increased risk of sudden death for dementia patients. The FDA is so concerned by use of these drugs on elderly dementia sufferers that it attaches its most severe warning to them.

Notwithstanding the proscription, though, the HHS report indicates that antipsychotic medications were given inappropriately to nursing home residents more than 300,000 times within a six-month study period, often in excessive doses. Moreover, and when Medicare pays for such drugs, they go to dementia patients almost 90 percent of the time.

"It's a form of chemical restraint," says Dr. David Zimmerman of the University of Wisconsin.

The HHS study cites concerns regarding "financial incentives for unnecessary drug use," pointing to past proofs of kickbacks among nursing homes, drug manufacturers and pharmacies.

One doctor who represents nursing home medical directors concedes the problem. Dr. Kenneth Brubaker says that the medication errors owe predominantly to inadequate staff training and high employee turnover.

"We tend to shortcut it by going to drugs," he says.

Related Resource: CBS News, "Gov't finds nursing homes misuse antipsychotics" May 9, 2011