Impact of federal antipsychotic use policy in nursing homes on new diagnoses for approved indications in dementia residents.

BACKGROUND: Federal policies targeting antipsychotic use among nursing home (NH) residents may have increased reporting of diagnoses for approved uses, including schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome, and Huntington's Disease (called "exclusionary diagnoses" because they exclude residents from the antipsychotic quality metric). We assessed changes in new exclusionary diagnoses among long-stay NH admissions specifically with dementia following federal policies. METHODS: Retrospective, quarterly, interrupted time-series analysis (2009-2018) of new long-stay NH residents with dementia and no exclusionary diagnoses reported before NH admission. The National Partnership and the addition of facility level antipsychotic use to the Five Star Quality Rating system were key time exposures. Outcome was quarterly facility level predicted percentage of exclusionary diagnoses within 2 years of admission stratified by NH characteristics. RESULTS: For 264,095 long-stay admissions, mean percentage of new exclusionary diagnoses was 2.2% before the Partnership. After the Partnership, there was an unadjusted increase in the percentage over time (slope change, 0.044, p = 0.018), but the percentage never exceeded 2.9%. The Partnership contributed to a one-time decrease in diagnoses in NHs with an intermediate percentage of Black residents (-1.29%, p = 0.004). Before the Partnership, diagnoses were increasing among not-for-profit relative to for-profit NHs (0.044; p = 0.012), but after the Partnership, the pattern reversed. For-profit NHs saw an increase (+0.034, p = 0.002); not-for-profit NHs experienced a decrease (-0.014, p = 0.039). Quality Rating modifications had no significant effect. CONCLUSIONS: Exclusionary diagnosis reporting among long-stay NH residents with dementia, the group most at risk from antipsychotics, did not increase in response to federal policies. Evaluation of reasons for the observed increase in exclusionary diagnoses among non-dementia NH residents is warranted along with continued attention to how to incentivize the appropriate use of medications in residents with dementia that is crucial for high-quality NH care.

Association of nursing home antipsychotic reduction policies with antipsychotic use in community dwellers with dementia.

BACKGROUND: Antipsychotic and other psychotropic medication use is prevalent among community-dwelling older adults with dementia despite the potential for adverse effects. Two Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initiatives, the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care ("the Partnership") and the Five Star Quality Rating System for antipsychotic use reporting, have been successful in reducing antipsychotic use in nursing home residents. We assessed if these initiatives had a spillover effect in antipsychotic and other psychotropic medication use among community dwellers with dementia due to potential overlap in prescribers across settings. METHODS: Among community-dwelling older adults with dementia, we examined psychotropic medication class use (i.e., antipsychotics, antidepressants, anxiolytics, anticonvulsants/mood stabilizers, antidementia) in 2010-2017 Medicare fee-for-service claims using interrupted time series analyses across three periods ("Pre-Partnership": July 1, 2010 to March 31, 2012; "Post-Partnership": April 1, 2012 to January 31, 2015; "Five Star Quality Rating": February 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017). RESULTS: We included 1,289,401 community dwellers with dementia contributing 26,609,697 person-months. The mean age was 80 years, most were female (70%), approximately 80% were non-Hispanic Whites, 10% were non-Hispanic Blacks, and 5% were Hispanic ethnicity. Antipsychotic use was declining pre-Partnership (ß = -0.06, 95% CI: -0.08, -0.05) and post-Partnership (ß = -0.02, 95% CI: -0.02, -0.01). Post-Five Star Quality Rating, antipsychotic use remained stable with a nearly flat slope (ß = -0.01, 95% CI: -0.01, 0.00). Anticonvulsant and antidepressant use increased and anxiolytic and antidementia medication use decreased among community-dwelling older adults with dementia. CONCLUSIONS: These two CMS policies on antipsychotic use for nursing home residents were not associated with a spillover effect to community-dwelling older adults with dementia. Strategies to monitor the appropriateness of psychotropic medication use may be warranted for community-dwellers with dementia.

Potentially Harmful Medication Prescribing by the Degree of Physician Specialization in Nursing Home Practice: An Observational Study.

OBJECTIVES: The use of anticholinergics, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, and other potentially harmful medications (PHMs) is associated with particularly poor outcomes in nursing home (NH) residents with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Our objective was to compare PHM prescribing by NH physicians and advanced practitioners who focus their practice on NH residents (NH specialists) vs non-NH specialists. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: We included a 20% random sample of Medicare beneficiaries with ADRD who resided in 12,278 US NHs in 2017. Long-stay NH residents with ADRD were identified using MDS, Medicare Parts A and B claims. Residents <65 years old or without continuous Part D coverage were excluded. METHODS: Physicians in generalist specialties and advanced practitioners with ≥90% of Part B claims for NH care were considered NH specialists. Residents were assigned to NH specialists vs non-NH specialists based on plurality of Part D claims submitted for that resident. Any PHM use (defined using the Beers Criteria) and the proportion of NH days on a PHM were modeled using generalized estimating equations. Models included resident demographics, clinical characteristics, cognitive and functional status, behavioral assessments, and facility characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 54,713 residents in the sample, 27.9% were managed by an NH specialist and 72.1% by a non-NH specialist. There was no statistically significant difference in any PHM use [odds ratio (OR) 0.97, 95% CI 0.93-1.02, P = .23]. There were lower odds of prolonged PHM use (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.81-0.94, P < .001, for PHM use on >75% vs >0%-<25% of NH days) for NH specialists vs non-NH specialists. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Although the use of PHMs among NH residents with ADRD managed by NH specialists was not lower, they were less likely to receive PHMs over longer periods of time. Future work should evaluate the underlying causes of these differences to inform interventions to improve prescribing for NH residents.

Sociocultural and Economic Disparities in Physical Therapy Utilization Among Insured Older Adults With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine influences of sociocultural and economic determinants on physical therapy (PT) utilization for older adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: In these annual cross-sectional analyses between 2012 and 2016, we accessed Medicare enrollment data and fee-for-service claims. The cohort included Medicare beneficiaries with RA based on 3 diagnosis codes or 2 codes plus a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug medication claim. We defined race and ethnicity and dual Medicare/Medicaid coverage (proxy for income) using enrollment data. Adults with a Current Procedural Terminology code for PT evaluation were classified as utilizing PT services. Associations between race and ethnicity and dual coverage and PT utilization were estimated with logistic regression analyses. Potential interactions between race and ethnicity status and dual coverage were tested using interaction terms. RESULTS: Of 106,470 adults with RA (75.1% female; aged 75.8 [SD 7.3] years; 83.9% identified as non-Hispanic White, 8.8% as non-Hispanic Black, 7.2% as Hispanic), 9.6-12.5% used PT in a given year. Non-Hispanic Black (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.77, 95% CI 0.73-0.82) and Hispanic (aOR 0.92, 95% CI 0.87-0.98) individuals had lower odds of PT utilization than non-Hispanic White individuals. Adults with dual coverage (lower income) had lower odds of utilization than adults with Medicare only (aOR 0.44, 95% CI 0.43-0.46). There were no significant interactions between race and ethnicity status and dual coverage on utilization. CONCLUSION: We found sociocultural and economic disparities in PT utilization in older adults with RA. We must identify and address the underlying factors that influence these disparities in order to mitigate them.

State Variation in Antipsychotic Use Among Assisted Living Residents With Dementia.

OBJECTIVES: More than two-thirds of assisted living (AL) residents have dementia or cognitive impairment and antipsychotics are commonly prescribed for behavioral disturbances. As AL communities are regulated by state-level policies, which vary significantly regarding the care for people with dementia, we examined how antipsychotic prescribing varied across states among AL residents with dementia. DESIGN: This was an observational study using 20% sample of national Medicare data in 2017. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The study cohort included Medicare beneficiaries with dementia aged 65 years or older who resided in larger (≥25-bed) ALs in 2017. METHODS: The study outcome was the percentage of eligible AL person-months in which antipsychotics were prescribed for each state. We used a random intercept linear regression model to shrink estimates toward the overall mean use of antipsychotics addressing unstable estimates due to small sample sizes in some states. RESULTS: A total of 20,867 AL residents with dementia were included in the analysis, contributing to 194,718 person-months of observation. On average, AL residents with dementia were prescribed antipsychotics during 12.6% of their person-months. This rate varied significantly by state, with a low of 7.8% (95% CI 5.9%-10.3%) for Hawaii to a high of 20.5% (95% CI 16.4%-25.3%) for Wyoming. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: We observed significant state variation in the prescribing of antipsychotics among AL residents with dementia using national data. These variations may reflect differences in state regulations regarding the care for AL residents with dementia and suggest the need for further investigation to ensure high quality of care.

Federal Nursing Home Policies on Antipsychotics had Similar Impacts by Race and Ethnicity for Residents With Dementia.

OBJECTIVES: Federal initiatives have been successful in reducing antipsychotic exposure in nursing home residents with dementia. We assessed if these initiatives were implemented equally across racial and ethnic minority groups. DESIGN: Retrospective, cross-sectional trends study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: National long-stay nursing home residents with dementia from 2011 to 2017. METHODS: We examined trends in psychotropic drug class exposures from the Minimum Data Set assessments for non-Hispanic Black (NHB), Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White (NHW) residents using interrupted time-series analyses with age-sex standardized quarterly outcomes and time points to denote the National Partnership (2012) and Five Star Rating changes (2015). RESULTS: Initially, antipsychotic (33.0%) and sedative (6.8%) exposure was highest for Hispanic residents; antidepressant (59.8%) and anxiolytic (23.4%) exposure was highest for NHW residents; NHB residents had the lowest use of each. Antipsychotic use dropped at the time of the Partnership (ß = -0.8807, P = .0023) and the slope declined further after the Partnership (ß = -0.6611, P < .0001) for NHW. In comparison to NHW, the level and slope changes for NHB and Hispanics were not significantly different. The Five Star Rating change did not impact the level of antipsychotic use (ß = 0.027, P = .9467), but the slope changed to indicate a slowed rate of decline (ß = 0.1317, P = .4075) for NHW. As to the other psychotropic drug classes, there were few significant differences between trends seen in the racial and ethnic subgroups. The following exceptions were noted: antidepressant use decreased at a faster rate for NHB residents post-Partnership (ß = -0.1485, P = .0371), and after the Five Star Rating change, NHB residents (ß = -0.0428, P = .0312) and Hispanic residents (ß = -0.0834, P < .0001) saw antidepressant use decrease faster than NHW. Sedative use in slope post-Partnership period (ß = -0.086, P = .0275) and post-Five Star Rating (ß = -0.0775, P < .0001) declined faster among Hispanic residents. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: We found little evidence of clinically meaningful differences in changes to 4 classes of psychotropic medication use among racial and ethnic minority nursing home residents with dementia following 2 major federal initiatives.

Psychotropic medication prescribing in assisted living and nursing home residents with dementia after the National Partnership.

BACKGROUND: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services implemented the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes (the Partnership) to decrease antipsychotic use and improve care for nursing home (NH) residents with dementia. We determined whether the extent of antipsychotic and other psychotropic medication prescribing in AL residents with dementia mirrored that of long-stay NH (LSNH) residents after the Partnership. METHODS: Using a 20% sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries with Part D, we conducted a retrospective cohort study including AL and LSNH residents with dementia. The monthly prevalence of psychotropic medication prescribing (antipsychotics, antidepressants, anxiolytics/sedative-hypnotics, anticonvulsants/mood stabilizers, benzodiazepines, and antidementia medications) was examined. We used an interrupted time-series analysis to compare medication prescribing before (July 1, 2010-March 31, 2012) and after (April 1, 2012-December 31, 2017) the Partnership in both settings. RESULTS: We identified 107,931 beneficiaries with ≥1 month as an AL resident and 323,766 beneficiaries with ≥1 month as a LSNH resident with dementia, including 1,923,867 person-months and 4,984,405 person-months, respectively. Antipsychotic prescribing declined over the study period in both settings. After the launch of the Partnership, the rate of decline in antipsychotic prescribing slowed in AL residents with dementia (slope change = 0.03 [95% CLs: 0.02, 0.04]) while the rate of decline in antipsychotic prescribing increased in LSNH residents with dementia (slope change = -0.12 [95% CLs: -0.16, -0.08]). Antidepressants were the most prevalent medication prescribed, anticonvulsant/mood stabilizer prescribing increased, and anxiolytic/sedative-hypnotic and antidementia medication prescribing declined. CONCLUSIONS: The federal Partnership to reduce antipsychotic prescribing in NH residents did not appear to affect antipsychotic prescribing in AL residents with dementia. Given the increase in the prescribing of mood stabilizers/anticonvulsants that occurred after the launch of the Partnership, monitoring may be warranted for all psychotropic medications in AL and NH settings.