Antipsychotic drugs in the nursing home: Some evaluative guidelines

Should psychotic drugs be used to control resident behavior in the nursing home? Are these powerful drugs effective for problem behaviors in nursing home residents who have dementia? The answers to these questions are often not clearcut. Many studies have documented that antipsychotic drugs are used inappropriately and excessively in our nation's nursing homes.' Recent changes in the Health Care Financing Administration regulations specifically respond to this issue. The new regulations require that any resident receiving these drugs must have a specific reason for the drug therapy documented in the patient record. The interpretive guidelines for these reg-