The purpose of this DNP project is to increase knowledge among primary care and psychiatric providers on the use of the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS). Patients treated with antipsychotic medications are at higher risk for adverse side effects, such as Tardive Dyskinesia (TD). Patients who need medication for the treatment of their mental illness rely on primary care and psychiatric providers to educate and monitor for side effects. Patients with TD have a higher hospitalization rate related to accidents and increased health costs. The increased presence of TD related to first- and second-generation antipsychotics should be addressed to prevent further health disparity outcomes for this patient population. An educational presentation, designed as a quality improvement project, was developed to guide the methodology of the DNP project aims that include; 1) significantly increase the knowledge base of medical and behavioral health providers on the AIMS screening tool, 2) increase the use of the AIMS tool in screening for TD, and 3) analyze findings from a pre-test posttest and address any notated knowledge deficits. The quality improvement project was held at an outpatient southern Arizona clinic from September 30 to October 31, 2019. There were 30 participants which included primary care providers, psychologists, social workers, and registered nurses. Measurements included pre-tests and post-test that were distributed during the educational forum to determine the participant’s understanding of the material presented and the results were collected and evaluated in Excel. Retrospective reports before and after the intervention were used to analyze the number of AIMS that were completed. The participants in the project increased use of screening using the AIMS from 40% use to 100% use, a 60% increase. In conclusion the implemented strategies proved to be effective and showed the need to educate employees on screening tools can be implemented in onboarding of new employees and in annual training
