CMS and its partners are committed to finding new ways to implement practices that enhance the quality of life for people with dementia.
CMS established new national goals for reducing the use of antipsychotic medications in long-stay nursing home residents
According to an article in CMS.gov, CMS and its partners are committed to finding new ways to implement practices that enhance the quality of life for people with dementia, protect them from substandard care and promote goal-directed, person-centered care for every nursing home resident.
The National Partnership continues to work with state coalitions and nursing homes to significantly reduce the prevalence of antipsychotic use in long-stay nursing home residents. CMS established national goals for reducing the use of antipsychotic medications in long-stay nursing home residents by 30 percent by the end of 2016. These goals build on the progress made to date and express the Partnership’s commitment to continue this important effort.
CMS plans to monitor the reduction of antipsychotics, as well as the possible consequences, review the cases of residents whose antipsychotics are withdrawn to make sure they don’t suffer an unnecessary decline and add the antipsychotic measure to the calculations that CMS makes for each nursing home’s rating on the agency’s Five Star Quality Rating System.
In 2017 those quality measures are predicted to change. Avoiding potentially inappropriate medications in older adults remains important for quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries, according to CMS, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. Medications will continue to be at the forefront when it comes to star quality measures.
To help with the reduction of antipsychotics, there is a fully reimbursed medication management tool that can help clinicians determine the right drug, at the right dose, for the right person. That tool is called pharmacogenetics.
Pharmacogenetics gives you scientific-based evidence on how each individual person receives therapy from the medication they are taking today, and a roadmap for medications in the future. For more information on how to implement this tool into your nursing home, or request more education on pharmacogenetics, contact: PGx Medical at info@pgxmed.com or 405-509-5112.
PGx Medical is the trusted and experienced resource for the implementation of pharmacogenetics in the field of aging services.
source: cms.gov