Hip Fractures and Sleeping Pills – Deadly Combo

Following a Medicare Part D change in 2006, physicians started prescribing sleeping pills such as Ambien, Lunesta and Sonata for nursing home residents with insomnia. The newer sleeping pills were thought to be safer for residents than benzodiazepine hypnotics, researchers noted.


But in a study by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of 26,618 nursing home residents who had lived in their facilities for at least six months before having a hip fracture, those taking non-benzodiazepine hypnotics had a 70% increased risk for a fracture, MedPage reported.åÊ

Additionally, the risk was even higher in residents with little or no cognitive impairment compared to those with significant cognitive impairment.



Obviously this was a study of nursing home residents. Nonetheless check with your physician if you are having trouble sleeping and thinking about medications. I am sure any pill that puts you into a sound sleep could have consequences if you awake prematurely, still half-asleep and unsure of your surroundings. That puts you at risk for falls and therefore hip fractures and more.

CarePlanners New Model for Helping Mom and Dad

As you made your way back home from an elder relative’s home during the holidays, you may have noticed some things that suggested that he/she could need some extra care. I had the pleasure of meeting the founder of CarePlanners, Alan Blaustein, in the fall of last year and learn more about his company. I was impressed.

You may be familiar with geriatric care managers as a profession and I have blogged about the vital role they play in senior care. I think CarePlanners ups the ante in the quality of professional available to you to help direct care for a loved one and even direct care for yourself.

Their team of Careplanners represents the full-spectrum of healthcare expertise ‰ÛÒ registered nurses, social workers, Medicare experts, insurance and billing specialists and other healthcare advocates. A person can only get to be part of CarePlanners if they are deeply caring and committed people ‰ÛÒ sharing their passion to eliminate the obstacles and frustrations of the healthcare system. All go through extensive interviews and training And that level of quality is what impressed me with this company.
I was also impressed with their five-step common sense approach:
  • Get a snapshot of your situation. Put all the information in one place.
  • Talk you through next steps and set goals.
  • Create a simple road map of decision options.
  • Make sure you are matched to services that you can afford or have resources for which to pay for them.
  • Organize and execute.
For a flat fee, a care consultant will help you with:
  • Dealing with a Serious Illness
    åÊ
  • Preparing for a Hospital Stay
    åÊ
  • Arranging Senior Care Services
    åÊ
  • Resolving Billing and Insurance Issues
    åÊ
  • Coordinating Care for Complex Existing Conditions
    åÊ
  • Planning for End of Life NeedsåÊ
To get started, you can request a call, chat online, or call them at 1.800.989.3588.
You can sign up and take advantage of online tools as well.åÊ
The co-founder of the company is Dr. Nancy Snyderman. You may be familiar with her from her work on NBC.
Friends for years, Alan Blaustein and Dr. Nancy Snyderman grew even closer after Alan was diagnosed withåÊ cancer in 2005. As Alan dealt with his treatment, he and his family spent most of their time and energy dealing with the healthcare system‰Ûªs many obstacles: managing and coordinating physicians, insurance companies, medical billing agencies, and variousåÊhospitals.
The more they discussed these inefficiencies, Alan and Dr. Nancy were amazed by the limited resources available to caregivers and patients to make it simpler for them to manage their healthcare crises and evolving needs.

åÊCheck out CarePlanners today.

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