To the Editor: We thank Hilmer and Gnjidic for highlighting the excessive use of psychotropic medications in Australian nursing homes.1 We recently completed a national psychotropic audit of over 9000 nursing home medication reviews conducted during the 2011–12 financial year. Our results were alarming: even after excluding residents with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, more than a quarter of residents reviewed (27%) were taking antipsychotics. Concerningly, 41% of all residents reviewed were prescribed benzodiazepines.
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