Step 1 – ASSESS

Review and rate how often each key element is used in practice in your LTC home by completing the self-assessment. The results of the self-assessment helps you prioritize actions towards the appropriate use of antipsychotics to manage behaviours. The goal is to identify improvements that your care home can then embed as sustainable practices in your day-to-day operations to reduce unnecessary medications in a safe manner, when appropriate, and to monitor your progress every six months.

Step 2 – MAKE CHANGES

Use the AUA in LTC Improvement Guide to prioritize one to two quality of life improvements. Choose only one or two areas so you know whether your changes have resulted in an improvement! Use the templates in the AUA in LTC Improvement Guide to develop and document a monthly workplan based on your priority area(s).

Step 3 – MEASURE CHANGES

Measurement is an essential part of improvement. Your data needs to accurately reflect what is happening at the care home level. Use the template provided in the AUA in LTC Improvement Guide to document your measurement plan that includes what data to monitor related to the appropriate use of antipsychotics. This helps your care home keep track of whether changes are leading to improvements over time.

Step 4 – RE-ASSESS AND REPEAT

Continue the improvement journey! Reassess every six months (minimum), work through the steps again and update your priorities and templates accordingly. The goal is to improve your rating for each key element until you reach a score of 6 for each one and your care home is able to maintain that score consistently with sustainable practices and processes embedded in day-to-day operations.