FDA fast-tracked dementia drug with known harms, reporter says
By
Kristen Fischer
Aug 18, 2023
An article in The BMJ is sounding the alarm that the US Food and Drug Administration fast-tracked approval for the dementia drug Rexulti (brexpiprazole) — even though trials show the drug is harmful.
GAO chides CMS over delayed nursing home reporting, antipsychotic transparency
By
Kimberly Marselas
Jun 23, 2023
Some Care Compare information on nursing homes is too old and some is too hard to understand, reported a government watchdog.
Audits trigger new concern over aging CMS antipsychotic standards
By
Kimberly Marselas
May 03, 2023
Worries over federal audits designed to monitor nursing homes for inappropriate schizophrenia diagnosing continued to mount as some providers learned they had “failed” their check-ups months into the...
Now that’s crazy
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Apr 25, 2023
I assume by now everybody is frantically auditing their resident’s charts for one word (or a derivative of it): schizophrenia! Because you might be audited for the inappropriate use of antipsychotics.
CMS leader balks on broader use of antipsychotic drugs
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 25, 2023
One of the nation’s top nursing home regulators is opposed to broadening exclusions for the use of antipsychotic medications, he told attendees of a national conference Friday.
Ask the legal expert … about antipsychotic scrutiny
By
Norris Cunningham
Apr 10, 2023
Q: The use of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes is already a publicly reported quality measure. Are we headed toward even more scrutiny? A: Yes, more scrutiny is coming. In February, the Department...
Providers call for broader antipsychotic exclusions to help reduce schizophrenia diagnoses
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 31, 2023
Providers and quality experts are questioning why the agency hasn’t done more to review its quality measure for antipsychotic drug use.
U.S. hospices lack standard for benzodiazepines, antipsychotics use: study
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 28, 2023
Investigators have found significant variation in what is considered clinically appropriate use of these drugs for the U.S. hospice population.
With scope unknown, nursing homes brace for new schizophrenia audits
By
Kimberly Marselas
Feb 10, 2023
Three weeks after federal officials announced they would begin auditing nursing homes for overuse of schizophrenia diagnoses, providers are still looking for answers about what those investigations will...
Pandemic disrupted dementia care, increased antipsychotic prescriptions: study
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 26, 2023
Clinicians relied on these drugs to address behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia during the pandemic. Experts are calling for a new approach to assessing treatment needs.