Journal of Gerontological Nursing
Vol. 36 No. 3 March 2010
By Dennis C. Tanner, PhD
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this article is to review the management of swallowing disorders in nursing home patients. The goal is to provide readers with five areas of contentious dysphagia management issues that have surfaced in several malpractice litigation cases. A detailed examination of what went wrong in the management of these patients’ dysphagia from the perspective of the plaintiffs’ dysphagia expert witness, as well as a discussion of what nursing home staff could have done to prevent these tragedies, is presented.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Tanner is Professor of Health Sciences, Program in Speech-Language Sciences and Technology, Department of Health Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona.
The author discloses that he has no significant financial interests in any product or class of products discussed directly or indirectly in this activity, including research support. This article is based in part on Tanner (2009).
Address correspondence to Dennis C. Tanner, PhD, Professor of Health Sciences, Program in Speech-Language Sciences and Technology, Department of Health Sciences, Box 15095, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011; e-mail: dennis.tanner@nau.edu.
Received: May 25, 2009
Accepted: October 29, 2009
Posted: February 22, 2010
doi:10.3928/00989134-20100202-06
