Guidelines and Care Management Issues for People with Alzheimer??s Disease and Other Dementias

Abstract

Most people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias do not receive ongoing, intentional medical management for these conditions, and effective coordination of medical and non-medical care is rare. Many published guidelines and consensus statements provide recommendations for identification, diagnosis and ongoing management of key issues, including cognitive decline, behavioral and psychiatric symptoms, depression, safety, family caregiver support and use of community services. These recommendations provide a strong basis for the development of disease management approaches that could improve medical outcomes and quality of life for people with these conditions and their families. In the US, a demonstration project (Chronic Care Networks for Alzheimer’s Disease) is testing an innovative model of coordinated medical and non-medical care that incorporates many of the recommendations.