Central Nervous System-Active Medication Use Among Persons Living with Dementia in Long-Term Care

Lauren Gerlach, MD,  is a geriatric psychiatrist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. She completed her clinical training at the University of Michigan and received additional training in health services research through the University of Michigan site of the National Clinician Scholars Program. As a geriatric psychiatrist, her research program is directly informed by her clinical work and experiences with patients, families, providers, and health systems to reduce barriers to high quality care for older adults with mental health disorders and dementia. A key area of her research is in understanding trends and appropriate use of psychotropic medications among older adults, extending to the end-of-life period. She has utilized national survey and administrative claims data to evaluate psychotropic prescribing among older adults, understand how health systems respond to warnings and policy initiatives aims at psychotropic medication prescribing, and evaluate unique challenges of delivering hospice dementia care.