On Friday, the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care issued a press release announcing that it met its goal of reducing the national prevalence of antipsychotic drug use in nursing home residents by 15.1%. Every state showed a reduction in long-stay resident unnecessary medications. Since this goal has been achieved, a new goal has been set – a 25% reduction by the end of 2015.
In order to achieve this goal, CMS noted that the organizations involved in this initiative will be looking at a multitude of ways to meet this new goal, including through the use of focused dementia care surveys and reviewing surveyor feedback on dementia care guidance. Programs like the OASIS, which focus on a person-centered approach to dementia care for nursing home residents, will also play a part in achieving this goal.