Skip to main content
Portal Sign-In

Follow us

Newfoundland, PEI and SQLI Appropriate Use of Antipsychotics Quality Improvement Collaborative

The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI) (now amalgamated with the Canadian Patient Safety Institute as Healthcare Excellence Canada) collaborated with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island to support the Appropriate Use of Antipsychotics (AUA) approach being implemented in:

  • all 39 publicly funded long-term care homes in Newfoundland and Labrador 

  • all nine publicly funded long-term homes in Prince Edward Island

  • five long-term homes from the Seniors Quality Leap Initiative, a North American network of long-term care organizations focused on improving clinical and safety for seniors.

Topics
  • Patient safety
  • Long-term care
  • Primary and community care
Audience

  • Healthcare leader

  • Point of care provider

  • Policy advisor or analyst

The Newfoundland, PEI and SQLI Appropriate Use of Antipsychotics Quality Improvement collaboration ran from 2018 to late 2019.

More than half of participating residents1 who were prescribed antipsychotics without a diagnosis of psychosis had these medications safely reduced or discontinued. This improved their care experiences and lives while also reducing their risk of negative health outcomes. The benefits for residents included these final results:

  • In Newfoundland and Labrador, 52 percent of participating long-term care residents either had their medication dosage reduced (22 percent) or discontinued entirely (30 percent).

  • In Prince Edward Island, 53 percent of participating long-term care residents either had their medication dosage reduced (28 percent) or discontinued entirely (25 percent).

  • There was no change in physical or verbal aggressive behaviours among these residents whose antipsychotic medication was reduced or discontinued.

Participating teams joined CFHI’s Momentum Challenge– an invitation-only program that assisted teams to expand the reach of the AUA approach and sustain its impact.

Following the success of the AUA collaborative in Prince Edward Island, Health PEI planned on spreading the AUA approach across the privately funded long-term care homes.

The Teams

"We are very pleased with the progress to date, and would like to thank the families and staff of all our long-term care homes throughout the province for their commitment to the Appropriate Use of Antipsychotics‎ collaborative. Their commitment, and the support from CFHI, has resulted in improvements in care and quality of life for people living in long-term care. While this project has concluded, our commitment to improving outcomes in this area will continue."

The Honourable John HaggieMinister of Health and Community Services, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (2019)

1 Of those who were still participating in the AUA program at the end of both Phase 1 and Phase 2.

Search...