The shifting demographic toward a AgrayingA populationAcoupled with todayAs reality of managed careAmakes 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 AssociationAs (APAAs) 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 AhowAAnot the AwhyAAof 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 Ahow toA volume contains practical information readers can use right away, from getting reimbursed by insurance companies to handling nursing facility politics: -ClinicalAHistory; evaluation and management of psychiatric problems in long-term care patients; an overview of the MDS; sexuality within the nursing home care setting -RegulatoryAIntroduction to the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 (part of OBRAA87) 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) -FinancialADocumentation, reimbursement, and coding; what to look for when contracting with nursing homes -Legal and ethicalAThe 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 AlzheimerAs disease; and the role of caregivers -Summary and Future PerspectivesAA detailed vision about how psychiatrists can improve the diagnosis and treatment of nursing home patients -Appendixes and bibliographyAStaffing recommendations and assessment instruments Edited by a distinguished authority and former chair of the APAAs 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.