The shifting demographic toward a "graying" population-coupled with today's reality of managed care—makes the need for high-quality, cost-effective psychiatric services within the nursing care setting more urgent than ever. As we increase the number of our years, it is also imperative that we enhance the quality of those years.

The product of the American Psychiatric Association's (APA's) Council on Aging and its Committee on Long-Term Care and of the Elderly, the Manual of Nursing Home Practice for Psychiatrists stands out because it focuses on the "how"—not the "why"—of nursing home care. Of exceptional importance is its detailed discussion of the Minimum Data Set (MDS), a structured assessment required by both Medicare and Medicaid for all residents of skilled nursing facilities.

Divided into six sections, this "how to" volume contains practical information readers can use right away, from getting reimbursed by insurance companies to handling nursing facility politics:

• Clinical—History; evaluation and management of psychiatric problems in long-term care patients; an overview of the MDS; sexuality within the nursing home care setting

• Regulatory—Introduction to the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 (part of OBRA-87) and its implications for psychiatric care; details about the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI), which includes the MDS, the Resident Assessment Protocols (RAPs), and Utilization Guides specified in the State Operations Manual (SOP)

• Financial—Documentation, reimbursement, and coding; what to look for when contracting with nursing homes

• Legal and ethical—The dehumanizing effect of diagnostic labels and the ethical issues inherent in regulating daily schedules (e.g., bed, meal, and bath times)

nursing home placement; competence and decision-making ability; comfort care for end-stage dementia; coping with Alzheimer's disease; and the role of caregivers

• Summary and Future Perspectives—A detailed vision about how psychiatrists can improve the diagnosis and treatment of nursing home patients

• Appendixes and bibliography—Staffing recommendations and assessment instruments

Edited by a distinguished authority and former chair of the APA's Committee on Long-Term Care and Treatment of the Elderly, this comprehensive volume will appeal to a wide audience of professionals: from general psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists, to primary care physicians and residents.