New data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show a reduction in the use of antipsychotic medications in Tennessee’s nursing homes.
The data was collected as part of a campaign to reduce the overuse of powerful antipsychotic medications on elderly patients.
The Tennessean newspaper reports a 22% reduction in the use of those drugs in nursing homes from the second quarter of 2011 to the end of 2013. The national rate dropped by 15% over the same period.
But the number of long-term patients in Tennessee who are still getting the drugs remains among the highest in the US: 23.4% in the last quarter of last year.
Only Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas had higher rates. The national average is about 20%.
Hawaii and Alaska had the lowest rates, followed by Michigan.
There was even more improvement in the care of short-term nursing home patients. A 29.1% reduction was recorded overall for the US. Tennessee reported a 3.2% rate at the end of last year.
