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Educating primary care physicians in the management of Alzheimer's disease: using practice guidelines to set quality benchmarks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2009

Debra L. Cherry ,
Carol Hahn  and
Barbara G. Vickrey
Debra L. Cherry*
Affiliation:
Alzheimer's Association, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Carol Hahn
Affiliation:
Alzheimer's Association, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Barbara G. Vickrey
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Debra L. Cherry, Alzheimer's Association, 5900 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 90036, U.S.A. Phone: +1 323 930 6225; Fax: +1 323 938 1036. Email: debra.cherry@alz.org
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Abstract

This paper presents a strategy for training primary care physicians in the identification, diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. The strategy uses evidence-based practice guidelines to establish quality benchmarks and then provides training and other interventions to improve the quality of care received by these patients. The three projects described in this paper assumed that training of primary care physicians alone would not be sufficient to achieve the quality benchmarks derived from guidelines. The projects used creative training strategies supplemented by provider “tool kits”, provider checklists, educational detailing, and endorsement from organizational leadership to reinforce what the primary care providers learned in educational sessions. Each project also implemented a system of dementia care management to “wrap around” traditional primary care to ensure that quality benchmarks would be achieved. Outcomes of two completed studies support the premise that it is possible to improve quality of dementia care through physician education that occurs in association with a coordinated system of dementia care management and in collaboration with community agencies to access guideline-recommended social services.

Keywords

dementiacare managementtrainingmedical care
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 21 , Supplement S1: International perspectives on dementia education, training and knowledge transfer , April 2009 , pp. S44 - S52
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2009

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