Kayla Johnson, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP

Panelists discuss how untreated tardive dyskinesia severely impacts patients' daily functioning and quality of life through physical limitations affecting basic tasks like eating and walking, social isolation due to visible symptoms, and heightened risks for older adults who face increased fall risks, difficulty maintaining independence, and complications from age-related comorbidities.

Panelists discuss how clinicians rely on careful observation, standardized rating scales like the AIMS (Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale), and comprehensive patient histories to diagnose tardive dyskinesia, while facing challenges in distinguishing it from other movement disorders due to symptom overlap and the need to rule out conditions like drug-induced parkinsonism, akathisia, and primary movement disorders.