Deliberations on and myths about OBRA '87 psychopharmacological medication regulations.

Editor’s note: The author was employed as a pharmacy consultant by the Healthcare Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid) until his retirement in 1999. He was one of the few officials who consulted with professional organizations outside government in the process of developing those regulations. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA ’87) resulted in regulations and guidelines governing the use of psychopharmacological medication in nursing homes. How were they developed? Was a commission used to address this issue? Did the FDA write them? Did Congress write them?