Antipsychotic drugs are an important treatment for patients with certain mental health conditions, but they are associated with an increased risk of death when used in elderly patients with dementia. The medications also have side effects. If possible, nursing homes should try to address a resident’s expressions of distress by first implementing person-centered approaches that do not involve medications. Addressing each resident’s needs through approaches other than medications—like higher staffing ratios, non-pharmacological interventions, and regular assignment of nursing staff—may lower the use of medications in many cases.
This measure reports the percentage of long-stay nursing home residents who received antipsychotic drugs from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021. Lower rates are better on this measure.
The purple dashed line represents the median, or middle, of all values reported.
CMS calculates this measure using data from the Minimum Data Set (MDS). The MDS is part of the federally mandated process for clinical assessment of all residents in Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing homes. Not all of a state’s residents reflected in the data for this measure are enrolled in Medicaid, but Medicaid is the primary payer across the nation for long-term care services.
Source: Provider Data Catalog
Note: Data for American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands are not available.