As a massive wave of Japanese enter their twilight years, an expert is calling for prudent use of psychotropic drugs to treat dementia patients, some of whom have suffered ill health due to over-prescription.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry released guidelines on how to prescribe such drugs for dementia patients in 2013 to avoid casual prescription by doctors. The Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology is also training doctors on the appropriate application of the drugs.
Dr. Yoshimasa Takase, director of the Takase Clinic in Ota Ward, Tokyo, warns that psychotropic drugs, while known to improve the condition of some patients, come with risks of side effects, including falls.