As part of its commitment to advance health equity by improving the safety and quality of nursing facility residents and staff, the Biden administration has teamed up with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to investigate the issue of overprescription of antipsychotic medications by hospital physicians in nursing homes. 

According to a recent study by the New York Times, 21% of nursing home residents were taking antipsychotic drugs. Some clinicians believe that physicians bear responsibility for overprescribing, while others think that change will come from more academic research in the scientific community. 

Stock photo from elements.envato.com

CMS has partnered with nursing homes, as well as other federal and state organizations, to discover better ways to use non-pharmacological methods in treating conditions that require medication. 

At BASE10, we utilize proprietary, data-driven technology and software management systems to help clinicians identify medications that may be improperly prescribed, with the goals of deprescribing and adverse event reduction in mind. 

As just one example, we use Pharmacogenomics (PGx) to study how genetic variations can affect a person's response to drugs, and whether they’re likely to experience adverse side effects or receive the proper therapeutic benefit from treatment. 

We make it a priority to use thoroughly-researched evidence to deliver PGx results to the patient’s prescribing physician. In accordance with FDA labelling, CPIC guidelines, and other rigorously researched sources, we’ve created a list of 100+ drug-gene pairs that have pharmacogenetic associations. By incorporating PGx into our MTM platform, the patient’s pharmacist is then able to discuss both genetic and nongenetic findings with the prescribing physician to make sure their patients get the best possible care. 

This high-touch clinical engagement platform delivers applicable PGx results as well as non-genetics-informed clinical interventions directly to the patient’s care team, utilizing a cost-effective and time-sensitive method that aims to reduce morbidity, mortality, and costs associated with the “one-size-fits-all” approach to disease treatment and prevention. 

Source:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/11/health/nursing-homes-schizophrenia-antipsychotics.html