THE ROLE OF GENERAL PRACTICE AND THE PRIMARY CARE TEAM IN DEMENTIA DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT

General practitioners (GPs) and the primary care team are uniquely situated to play a central role both in the diagnosis and ongoing care of dementia. Anecdotal reports and empirical work suggest that GPs face several challenges in fulfilling this role. This paper describes the various roles GPs and the primary care team could play in diagnosis and ongoing management. It then discusses the legitimate anxieties and difficulties faced in fulfilling these roles. The paper concludes with suggestions for how GPs and the primary care team might be supported to maximize their role in dementia diagnosis and management.

[1]  H. Evenhuis,et al.  Evaluation of a screening instrument for dementia in ageing mentally retarded persons. , 2008, Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR.

[2]  R. Fortinsky,et al.  Primary Care Physicians' Diagnostic, Management, and Referral Practices for Older Persons and Families Affected by Dementia , 1995 .

[3]  J. Lindesay,et al.  A survey of memory clinics in the british isles , 1995 .

[4]  J. Reid,et al.  Do general practitioners and old age psychiatrists differ in their attitudes to dementia? , 1995 .

[5]  F. Schellevis,et al.  The validity of the judgement of general practitioners on dementia , 1994 .

[6]  J. Wattis,et al.  Evaluation of early dementia by a trained nurse , 1994 .

[7]  H. Brodaty,et al.  General practice and dementia , 1994, The Medical journal of Australia.

[8]  J. Hyde,et al.  Dementia in general practice: the practical consequences of a more positive approach to diagnosis. , 1993, The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners.

[9]  M. Rossor,et al.  Management of dementia. , 1993, The Practitioner.

[10]  D. Surmon,et al.  Longitudinal diagnosis of memory disorders. , 1992, Age and ageing.

[11]  H. Bickel,et al.  The ability of general practitioners to detect dementia and cognitive impairment in their elderly patients: A study in Mannheim , 1992 .

[12]  M. Lachs,et al.  Should patients with Alzheimer's disease be told their diagnosis? , 1992, The New England journal of medicine.

[13]  D. O'Connor,et al.  For Better or for Worse: The Experience of Caring for an Elderly Dementing Spouse , 1991, Ageing and Society.

[14]  D. Kay,et al.  The Diagnosis of Dementia in the Elderly a Comparison of CAMCOG (the Cognitive Section of CAMDEX), the AGECAT Program, DSM–III, the Mini-Mental State Examination and Some Short Rating Scales , 1991, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[15]  F. Huppert,et al.  A comparison of clinical, psychometric and behavioural memory tests: Findings from a community study of the early detection of dementia , 1991 .

[16]  M. Folstein,et al.  Physician Practices in the Diagnosis of Dementing Disorders , 1991, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

[17]  Henry Brodaty,et al.  A Survey of Dementia Carers: Doctors' Communications, Problem Behaviours and Institutional Care , 1990, The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry.

[18]  Anthony F Jorm,et al.  General practitioners' detection of depression and dementia in elderly patients , 1990, The Medical journal of Australia.

[19]  H. Evers,et al.  Waiting to be served. , 1990, The Health service journal.

[20]  D. Laplane [Practical management of Alzheimer's disease]. , 1989, La Revue du praticien.

[21]  I. Philip Supporting the Supporters of the Demented Elderly , 1988, Scottish medical journal.

[22]  B. Reiss,et al.  Do general practitioners miss dementia in elderly patients? , 1988, BMJ.

[23]  M. Davies The role of general practitioners in supporting carers of the elderly in the community. , 1988, The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners.

[24]  Steve Mclean Assessing Dementia. Part I: Difficulties, Definitions and Differential Diagnosis , 1987, The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry.

[25]  J. Simpson,et al.  The Memory Clinic: A New Approach to the Detection of Dementia , 1987, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[26]  A. L. Hunter,et al.  Alzheimer's Disease Society , 1987, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

[27]  F. Huppert,et al.  CAMDEX: A Standardised Instrument for the Diagnosis of Mental Disorder in the Elderly with Special Reference to the Early Detection of Dementia , 1986, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[28]  S. Zarit,et al.  The Hidden Victims of Alzheimer's Disease: Families Under Stress , 1985 .

[29]  G. Glosser,et al.  Physicians' and Families' Perspectives on the Medical Management of Dementia , 1985, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

[30]  M. Fisher,et al.  OLD PEOPLE AT HOME. THEIR UNREPORTED NEEDS. , 1964, Lancet.

[31]  Martin N. Rossor,et al.  Fortnightly review : Alzheimer's disease , 1993 .

[32]  A. Henderson,et al.  The epidemiology of Alzheimer's disease. , 1986, British medical bulletin.