Feature
Pain meds replacing psychotropics in OMNI homes
Tuesday January 8, 2008
One of the big changes to touch OMNI long-term care homes in recent years is the move away from administrating psychotropic medications to residents with dementia exhibiting agitation.

This shift is largely due to staff members now recognizing that agitation doesn’t always have a psychological basis. Often, it is the result of a resident with dementia being in pain or uncomfortable.

With this in mind, frontline staff is more conservative today when administrating psychotropics. Instead of turning to psychotropics, frontline staff is more likely to use pain medications to address agitation in residents with dementia.

OMNI homes also consider holistic approaches. Staff members have found that in many instances, agitation is eased when a resident is repositioned or given a hot pack, thus eliminating the need for any medication.

Much of this change in ideology has been brought on by OMNI providing staff members with educational opportunities to address the issue of pain and instruct them on how to identify pain in residents with dementia.

“If you control pain, you really make a big dent in those behaviours,” says Barb Bremner, a pharmacist consultant with pharmaceutical supplier Medical Pharmacies, an OMNI partner. “I think when you go into homes, you can see that the residents are more comfortable.”

In fact, according to statistics from Medical Pharmacies, the use of psychotropic medications has decreased in OMNI’s 16 long-term care homes as the use of pain medications has increased.

Although sometimes needed, psychotropic medications can have a stronger effect on the elderly than on other segments of the population. Ensuring these medications are only used when absolutely necessary helps residents live a more enjoyable life in a long-term care home.

When residents are treated with pain medication, rather than psychotropics, it results in a better quality of life. Because pain medications don’t have the side effects often seen with psychotropics, residents are able to participate in more activities and do more physically.

And that benefits everyone.