Antipsychotic Medication Reduction

Use this tool with the antipsychotic medications example to help you set up your measures for reporting your quality improvement project. This document is a draft of suggestions and must be modified by the facility team to ensure they reflect their QI work.

Nursing home activity directors can use this document to review steps that could help residents with dementia improve nighttime sleep.

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has released an updated AGS Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults. This article details the methodology and modifications.

This tool, developed by TMF Health Quality Institute, suggests ideas to help reduce the use of antipsychotic drugs.

An informational resource, prepared by TMF Health Quality Institute, on the effects of antipsychotic drug use on dementia residents/patients.

The purpose of this education activity is to enhance the knowledge and understanding of participating physicians and health care providers on the reduction of antipsychotic medication use in long-term care and mitigation strategies for challenges faced by the prescribing physician. Duration: 29:45

Providing information about antipsychotic medication indications, appropriate age groups, off-label uses, side effects, adverse effects and black box warnings, this medication reference guide is a useful reference in prescribing and monitoring antipsychotic medication.

Use this Excel workbook to track your residents, their prescriptions for antipsychotics, and your facility’s efforts to appropriately reduce the use of antipsychotics with alternative interventions. The first sheet in this workbook provides a sample of the type of information to list in each column. The second sheet in the workbook is for your use.

This brief video will give you an opportunity to explore how well you know your residents and what you might use to help them be happy in your facility.

Are you interested in becoming a Certified Dementia Practitioner? This website provides information on how to obtain certification.

This tool from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is intended to assist facilities in identifying risk factors for adverse drug events and implementing programs to minimize such risks.

This toolkit, developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), focuses on providing nurse aides quality training on abuse prevention and person-centered care of residents with dementia, but may be beneficial to nursing home caregivers, administrative staff and surveyors also. The training materials consist of six one-hour training videos, orientation guide and instructor guide. Please note that contact information is required to access the downloadable materials.

Minimum Data Set (MDS) training is available in Section N, Medications – Drug Regimen Review. Scroll down the page to locate the Section N materials.

This document is a draft of suggestions and must be modified by the facility team to ensure they reflect their QI work.

This joint summary statement addresses appropriate strategies for diagnosing schizophrenia in skilled nursing centers and is supported by associations including the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the American Psychiatric Association and more.

This Oct. 19 recording features Dr. Angela Norman, author of the “Well-being Model for Dementia Care in the Long-term Care Setting,” discussing antipsychotic medications and why it is important to reduce the use of these medications. She also explores alternative avenues for treating residents with dementia.

This resource provides tips for Alzheimer's Caregivers that may help them understand and cope with changes in personality and behavior.

Now available with two new drug groups: COPD medications and antipsychotics. Clinicians in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, pharmacies and physician offices will find this tool useful for teaching their Medicare and elderly patients about their medications. Included in the tool are a cover reminder card, and eleven medication cards, including: Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) -inhibitors, Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (ARBs), beta blockers, antiarrhythmic agents, aldosterone blockers, diuretics, nitrates (vasodilators), potassium, blood thinners (anticoagulants), antidiabetic agents, opioid medications, COPD medications and antipsychotics. Each medication card includes: 1) How the class of drug works, 2) What problems to report to the clinician, and 3) The brand or generic drug names by class.

This mini-toolkit includes resources geared toward improving medication safety.

View this video to see how this facility used team work, education to achieve great results for their residents through person-centered care.

View this new website from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which provides resources and more information on the National Partnership initiative to improve comprehensive dementia care and help reduce the use of antipsychotic medications in nursing homes.

Watch this Oct. 17, 2024, Nursing Home Connect webinar recording to learn about evidence-based recommendations, tools and resources to help with the prevention of falls by decreasing the number of antipsychotics, antianxiety and hypnotic medications for nursing home residents.

This is the PDF handout from the TMF QIN-QIO's recorded webinar, "Don’t Fall for Psychotropics."

This toolkit, prepared for the Commonwealth Fund in collaboration with the Hartford Foundation, provides information on non-pharmacological approaches that are effective in reducing the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia exhibited by persons residing in nursing homes.

Download this list of medications for reference. Note, this list does not supersede obtaining consent where required.

Use this log to identify the day a mood or behavior symptom was reported in order to discern a pattern for certain symptoms and a reduction in symptoms as staff works to address and resolve the care routine.

Use this tool with the antipsychotic medications example to help you set up your measures for reporting your quality improvement project. This document is a draft of suggestions and must be modified by the facility team to ensure they reflect their QI work.

This quality measure tip sheet provides an overview of the long- and short-stay antipsychotic medications measure, MDS coding requirements and additional tips and assessment considerations.

"This quality measure tip sheet provides an overview of the percentage of long-stay residents who are receiving antianxiety medications or hypnotics, MDS coding requirements and additional tips and assessment considerations."

This article focuses on abnormal sleep patterns and sleep problems that are common in nursing homes, including insomnia, daytime sleepiness, abnormal sleep-wake patterns and circadian rhythms.

This form, as required by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission meets the Texas policy requirements for a resident or a resident’s legally authorized representative to provide consent to the prescription of an antipsychotic or neuroleptic medication. Note: The Firefox web browser maybe required to open this file.

The COE-NF serves as a centralized hub and national model for expanding capacity in nursing facilities to care for residents with a variety of behavioral health needs. Training, technical assistance and workforce development will be provided for staff in nursing facilities.

This video is from a nursing home that has begun working with residents to reduce antipsychotic medications. The story is told from the resident's point of view and how the reduction in the antipsychotic drug has affected his life.

This tool from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement provides instructions for conducting a retrospective review of patient records using triggers to identify possible adverse drug events. Log-in may be required to access information.

Learn how Spring Branch Transitional Care Center in Houston and the TMF QIN-QIO worked together on a QAPI plan to identify opportunities for quality improvement, as well as how to execute solutions.

Learn how one nursing home reduced its antipsychotic usage rate from 54 to 13 percent. Watch this brief video (7 minutes and 48 seconds) to learn about the different methods this nursing home implemented to achieve this reduction, including virtual dementia training for staff.

La Red de Innovación de la Calidad de TMF, bajo contrato con los Centros de Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid, diseñó este paquete de cambios para proporcionar las estrategias para abordar los eventos adversos de medicamentos.

Use this log to identify the day a mood or behavior symptom was reported in order to discern a pattern for certain symptoms and a reduction in symptoms as staff works to address and resolve the care routine. This resource is in Spanish suitable for a Puerto Rican audience.