Concerns have been raised over the inappropriate prescribing of drugs to patients in care homes in the US - in so-called off-label dispensing.

The practise, which sees medical professionals ignoring the printed labels on and within pharmaceutical products and prescribing drugs for their palliative effects, has been highlighted by the US Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General.

In a report published earlier this month, the OIG noted that dangerous anti-psychotics were being misused in this way and warned that straying from the prescribing guidelines outlined on pharmaceutical labels could put patients at risk.

The OIG noted that 95 per cent of prescription claims for anti-psychotics were for the treatment of elderly people in nursing homes.

While the practise is permitted by the country's Food and Drug Administration, the implications of off-label prescribing are still the subject of serious debate.

In 2007, the FDA warned that using anti-psychotics to treat patients with dementia has "severe or life-threatening risks".

The alternative use of approved drugs is not uncommon, however, and recent research conducted by scientists from the UK and Canada have shown that the HIV drug lopinavir could be used to treat the human papilloma virus.

Denny Bros Ltd, 12 May 11