One in four nursing home residents receive at least one antipsychotic medication. Many of those residents have dementia.

Antipsychotic drugs have a number of serious side effects. An analysis by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revealed that in many cases, these medications are used inappropriately, for too long and at too high a dose, while alternative, non-pharmacological approaches have not been widely adopted.

In response, CMS created The Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes to improve behavioral health and safety for nursing home residents.

atom Alliance is igniting powerful change by helping local nursing homes lower antipsychotic drug use by sharing relevant resources and attainable steps to reduce antipsychotic medication rate. We are discovering new ways to implement practices that enhance the quality of life for people with dementia, protecting them from substandard care and promoting person-centered care for every resident.

Here are some downloadable tools designed to help reduce antipsychotic drug use in nursing homes:

• AP Alternatives
• How to Use the CMS Hand in Hand Training for Dementia Care
• Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine
• White Paper: Minimizing the Use of AP in Today’s Senior Care Facilities

We also recommend these websites, among many others found on our Reducing Antipsychotics webpage:

• National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease: 2015 Update
• Institute for Safe Medication Practices