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Sometimes nondrug interventions and therapies aren't enough to control severely disturbed and dangerous behavior, such as the physically aggressive behavior we spoke of earlier. At that point, we consider the use of medications. Some of the medications available to us are classified as antipsychotic drugs, but we don't want you to think that means they're only used for people considered "crazy" or "insane." When we speak of them here, we are talking about their use to treat specific symptoms -- the kind of symptoms associated with dementia. It makes sense to consider them in terms of what they can do to help, rather than how they are classified.
We follow guidelines established by the federal
government to make sure any antipsychotic medications prescribed are
used appropriately. According to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation
Act of 1987, or OBRA, we may use antipsychotic medications to manage
behavior only if that behavior is not caused by preventable reasons,
and the behavior is causing the resident to present a danger to him
or herself or others, or continuously cry, scream, yell, pace, or
experience psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, paranoia, or
delusions that cause the resident distress or impairment in
functional capacity. These are the types of agitated or aggressive
behaviors we document before we consider starting medications.
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