In some cases, neglect and abuse can be masked by medical conditions. The patient turned out to have opioid poisoning, due to an error at the nursing facility. The nursing facilities covered by the report provide skilled nursing and therapy services to Medicare patients recovering from surgeries or hospitalization. Based on the expert judgment of state inspectors, federal auditors came up with their estimate of 6,600 unreported cases of potential neglect and abuse. Investigators found that nursing facility staff and even state inspectors had an unclear and inconsistent understanding of reporting requirements.

Source: thestar June 12, 2019 10:10 UTC