Oral

This session addresses many issues related to the quality of medication use in nursing homes in the United States. The four sessions will cover: the use of lipid-lowering medications in nursing home residents with advanced dementia and impact of discontinuation on hospital outcomes; the relationship between the generosity of Medicare Part D drug coverage and resident outcomes of depression, hallucinations/delusions, aggressive behaviors, and cognitive performance; trends in the use of analgesics in nursing homes relative to revised regulatory requirements on pain management; and trends in atypical antipsychotic prescribing in long-term care facilities following nationwide interventions and media attention.

Session Objectives: 1) Describe how pain and use of analgesics in US nursing homes has changed in recent times. 2) Learn about barriers to discontinuing lipid-lowering therapy at end-of-life. 3) Explore potential improvements in US Medicare policy and regulatory guidelines for nursing home residents. 4) Evaluate the effectiveness of public media and nationwide initiatives to reduce use of atypical antipsychotics in nursing homes.