The CMS on Tuesday heralded a lower prevalence of antipsychotic drug use in the nation's nursing homes, which the agency attributes to a dementia-care program it launched last year.
According to the agency, data released on the Nursing Home Compare website in July showed that nursing homes are using antipsychotic drugs less and pursuing more patient-centered treatment for dementia and other behavioral healthcare.
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Mostashari
Federal health information technology policymakers plan to establish a voluntary program for the testing and certification of electronic health-record systems used by long-term care, post-acute care and behavioral health providers.
Congress, in drafting legislation creating the EHR incentive program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that helped hospitals and office-based physicians buy tested and certified EHRs, did not include long-term care and behavioral health facilities, even though nearly a third of Medicare patients discharged from acute-care hospitals go to post-acute-care settings.
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Average psychiatric inpatient hospital admissions rose more than 8% in 2011, according to an annual survey by the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems, which said the need for inpatient behavioral health services continues to grow.
Released Monday, the survey collected 2011 data from 262 facilities, of which 84.5% were psychiatric hospitals and the remaining 15.5% were general hospitals with behavioral health services units.
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