As part of the C to C initiative, each month THCA provides relevant news and best practices on a specific quality topic related to long term care. This October, THCA is partnering with other Texas stakeholders to assist providers to focus on, and be successful in their antipsychotic reduction efforts.
This October, the Quality Topic of the Month focuses on the One a Month Campaign and provides useful tools to assist nursing facilities with the reduction of off label antipsychotics by focusing on assessment and effective non-pharmacological interventions.
SPOTLIGHT: THCA One a Month Campaign.
THCA has partnered with other Texas long term care leaders and launched the One a Month campaign aimed to lower the use of off-label antipsychotics in Texas nursing homes. The effort involves transitioning at least one resident per month off of these medications by using non-pharmacological interventions.
Center for Clinical Standards and Quality/Survey & Certification Group
The goal of the Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes is to optimize the quality of life and function of residents in America’s nursing homes, especially those living with dementia.
Checklist: Review of Care and Services for a Resident with Dementia
Get started reducing antipsychotics in your long-term care facility with the following checklist for dementia and unnecessary drugs. Click below to download and print.
Antipsychotic Medication Reference
Check out this helpful reference of antipsychotic medications including dosage ranges, off label uses, side effects, warnings and precautions.
Understanding antipsychotic alternatives is a crucial step in reducing the use of antipsychotic drugs. The following information suggests ideas like getting to know the resident and his or her family history. Read on for more ideas to consider and a few you can start today!
Assessing for Pain as an Unmet Need
Individuals with dementia often experience unmet pain needs that can result in uncharacteristic behaviors. Successful pain management programs include processes for completing comprehensive pain assessments.
The links provided in the document below are examples of how pain can be assessed in dementia residents.
Assessing pain in elderly residents with dementia can often be a difficult task. Check out this list of pain assessment tools, websites and resources to help you in the process.
Care Planning Dementia-related Targeted Behaviors
The following document has a few case examples outlining different scenarios caregivers may experience with a resident suffering from dementia. These scenarios will walk you through the problem, goal, and approaches/interventions to different types of problematic behaviors.
Antipsychotic Medication Tracking Form
Below is a copy of the Antipsychotic Medication Tracking Form for use in your facility. Click below to download the form. Use it to keep track of your success so that it can be counted toward the Texas One a Month Campaign goal!
Antipsychotic Drug Use and Dementia-A tool for Family Members
This tool was designed to help family members understand that antipsychotic drugs were not developed to control behaviors with dementia. It outlines the harmful side effects of using these medications for residents with dementia and what illnesses they are actually meant to treat.
Get the Facts about Antipsychotic Drugs and Dementia Care-Another Handy Tool for Consumers
Medications can be an important part of the care provided to nursing home residents and they need to be monitored carefully. This fact sheet focuses on antipsychotics, dementia care and what consumers need to know.
American Medical Directors Association (AMDA) Antipsychotics-Letter to Medical Directors
AMDA-Dedicated to Long Term Care Medicine has partnered with CMS, as well as several other organizations, in an effort to improve care provided to nursing home residents with dementia under a new, joint behavioral health initiative. The following letter from the American Medical Directors Association invites medical directors of long-term care facilities to join the effort to reduce unnecessary use of antipsychotics by refocusing on a better understanding of dementia related behaviors.
Dementia in the Long Term Care Setting Clinical Practice Guideline
The following in an excerpt from the AMDA Clinical Practice Guideline for Dementia outlining a systematic approach for the recognition, assessment, treatment, and monitoring of patients with dementia in the long-term care setting.