Centre for Policy on Ageing



Impact of legislation on nursing home care in the United States — lessons for the United Kingdom
Author(s)	Carmel M Hughes, Kate L Lapane, Vincent Mor
Journal title	British Medical Journal, vol 319, no 7216, 16 October 1999
Pages	pp 1060-1062
Keywords	Medical care ; Drugs ; Nursing homes ; Law ; Social policy ; United States of America.
Annotation	In the United States (US) where long term care has undergone dramatic changes in the last 10 years, the debate on quality of care continues. Excessive use of psychotropic medication was commonplace in nursing homes in the US before the Nursing Home Reform Act 1987 was passed. After legislation, psychotropic drugs were used less, and a more structured approach to care planning was observed. In the US, policy relating to nursing home care is unclear, and explicit criteria for quality prescribing have not been formulated. A combination of structured assessment and review of patients, concerted educational interventions, and greater multidisciplinary working - as suggested in the Royal College of Physicians report, "Medication for older people" - may improve long term care in the UK. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-000121202 A
Classmark	LK: LLD: LHB: VR: TM2: 7T *
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.