A Sustainable Interdisciplinary Approach to the Appropriate Use of Antipsychotic Medications in Long-Term Care

Prior research in geriatric medicine has shown that the use of antipsychotic medications by older people can result in significant adverse effects and increased mortality. This article focuses on the implementation of a methodology created by the Appropriate Use of Antipsychotics (AUA) collaborative, a project developed by the Senior Quality Leap Initiative (SQLI) in Canada, to reduce the use of antipsychotic medications among a population of older individuals at a long-term chronic hospital. The methodology included use of a variety of standardized AUA tools, the establishment of staff awareness and alignment, focused internal reporting with benchmarks, and collaborative teamwork with the use of person-centered care. Through this framework, the facility was able to reduce antipsychotic medication use from 22.0% to 14.9% over 2 years.