Project PAUSE (Psychoactive Appropriate Use for Safety and Effectiveness), a coalition of national stakeholders of which LeadingAge is a part, is urging the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) to remove the problematic Long-Stay Antipsychotic Medication measure from the Five Star Quality Rating System on Care Compare.

The April 9 letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz advocating for the measure’s removal explains the measures shortcomings, including not distinguishing between appropriate use of antipsychotic medications and unnecessary use of antipsychotic medications. In addition, Project PAUSE explains, the quality measure has an outsized impact on the star rating system, misleading consumers regarding nursing home care safety and quality.

Project PAUSE further maintains that the quality measure interferes in the practice of medicine and prevents patients from receiving the treatment their physician deems clinically necessary and appropriate, directly at odds with patient-centered care.

In addition to offering alternative recommendations for monitoring appropriate use of antipsychotics in nursing homes, Project PAUSE  requests an opportunity for additional discussion with the Secretary and Administrator.

LeadingAge will continue engagement on this issue as part of the coalition. Learn more about Project PAUSE here.