Doctors are still prescribing dangerous drugs to seniors, despite government warnings.
Over two years ago was reported, that more than a million seniors were prescribed atypical antipsychotics. Atypical antipsychotics are specific kinds of antipsychotic drugs. They are considered by many experts to be ineffective or even dangerous for elderly patients.
Health Canada followed up with warnings pointing to the drugs' side effects according to 13 scientific studies, which included a 60 percent greater risk of death in seniors who were taking the drugs than in patients taking placebos.
It also warned that elderly patients taking atypical antipsychotics were almost twice as likely to die from side effects such as heart failure.
In its advisory, Health Canada requested that the drugs' 
manufacturers include a warning describing the risk in the safety information sheet provided along with the drugs, and that health care providers refrain from relying too much on the drugs to treat dementia.
Atypical antipsychotics are drugs such as Risperidone (Risperdal), Quetiapine (Seroquel), Olanzapine (Zyprexa) and Clozapine (Clozaril).
Many of these types of drugs have never been tested on seniors.
They are intended to treat severe mood disorders, symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adults under 65.
A new investigation has revealed that the number of prescriptions of these drugs for seniors actually increased in spite of and after the Health Canada warnings.
They shot up in six provinces, including in Ontario and Quebec.
In some cases, they increased by 40 percent, according to sales data provided by IMS Health, a business intelligence and strategic pharmaceutical and health-care consulting firm.
Read the rest of CBC's story here
Editor's opinion:
"Hmm, I wonder if the drug industry with its incentive programs has anything to do with it..................."
In Newfoundland and Labrador an initiative for drug use among seniors has just been announced last week:
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