Objective: To test the impact of the Function Focused Care Intervention on use of psychotropic medications and opioids over a 12-month period in assisted living residents.
Setting: The study included 794 residents from 85 general assisted living communities in the United States. The general assisted living communities that had at least 25 beds and 10 residents per community were enrolled.
Results: There was no significant difference in the treatment groups regarding medication use except for a decrease in opioid use at 4 months (P = 0.03). In the full sample there was a significant increase in use of benzodiazepines from baseline to 12 months (P = 0.04) and an increase in the use of antipsychotics between 4 and 12 months (P = 0.04).
Conclusion: Function-focused care does not increase the need for psychotropic medications or opioids and may help decrease the need for opioids. Further, we recommend the involvement of a pharmacy consultant to provide oversight and medication reviews for all residents in assisted living to consider deprescribing, if possible, for potentially unnecessary use of psychotropic medications or opioids.
