Appropriate Antipsychotic Use in Nursing Home Populations: A Wakeup Call to CMS

In nursing homes (NHs), the ability to provide comprehensive psychiatric and behavioral health care including evidence-based medication prescribing has been outpaced by the rising prevalence of serious mental illness (SMI).1 The average number of individuals with at least 1 psychiatric diagnosis admitted to a NH in the United States increased from 11.2% in 1995 to 31.4% in 2015.2 Individuals with SMI admitted to NHs tend to be younger, disproportionately Black, Indigenous, or persons of color, and are more likely to reside in facilities that have variable quality and breadth of mental health services.