Race is likely not a major factor when it comes to the inappropriate use of antipsychotics in nursing home residents after a new study found that facilities with high proportions of black residents had “significantly lower rates” of inappropriate use.
A study by a Brown University research team also found that nursing homes with high and low proportions of black residents had similar rates of antipsychotic use. Researchers concluded that despite the findings, “facility-level socioeconomic disparities” continue to exist within nursing homes.
The investigation did find that Medicaid-reliant residents had higher proportions of inappropriate antipsychotic use.
“Policy interventions that focus on reimbursement need to be considered to promote reductions in antipsychotic use, specifically among Medicaid‐reliant NHs,” the authors wrote.
The study used data from nearly 13,000 U.S. nursing homes between 2000 and 2015. Findings were published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
In a March 2019 memo, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services noted that the overall use of antipsychotics in long-stay residents dropped nearly 40% since 2011.
