Improving access to community services: Role of the Alzheimer Society in primary care–based memory clinics

Abstract

Background: It well documented that community services and resources can mitigate the negative impacts associated with the caregiving role. However, primary care providers’ knowledge of and referral to local support services tends to be limited. This presentation will describe the role of the Alzheimer Society (AS) in 11 memory clinics based within multidisciplinary group primary care practices (Family Health Teams, FHT) and explore the impacts associated with this partnership. Thesememory clinics serve approximately 424 medical practices with a combined patient base of over 661,000. Methods: Thirty-six team members including 11 AS representatives across 11 FHTs were interviewed to describe the role of the AS within the memory clinics and to identify key lessons learned and impacts associated with this partnership. Results: The role of the AS varied dependent on existing resources available within the FHT and the care gaps the AS was able to fill; most commonly this included the administration of standardized tools (cognitive testing, caregiver burden and stress, depression, functional status, and risk), provision of information about dementia, AS education programs and support groups and other community services. Preliminary data indicate significant increases in the number of referrals to the AS from six months prior to the involvement of the AS to six months following AS involvement (20 vs. 126 across 9 FHTs; 530% increase in referrals). AS involvement was credited with improving the quality of dementia care by increasing awareness of and timely/ earlier access to AS programs and community services, reducing stigma associated with accessing the AS, reducing burden of care for health care providers as they provide valuable information otherwise not available and are reliable source of collateral information (eyes and ears within the community) and are a efficient use of existing resources. Few challenges were associated with this partnership, which was described as a ’win-win’ opportunity.Conclusions: Partnerships between theAS and primary care-basedmemory clinics provide a significant opportunity for enhancing dementia care through better integration and coordination with community services, access to information and services at the time of diagnosis, and facilitated access to services throughout the disease process.