Dementia Assessment Process

Standard 6 of the minimum standards states: “Each resident has an individual and up to date comprehensive care plan”

Dementia does not only impact the people with symptoms and it also disturbs the people who must care for the person. It is estimated that 1.2 million people are involved in the care of people with dementia. It has a financial burden on the Australian economy $4.9 billion in 2009-10. (1)

Working in a hospital setting predominantly with older people, I have encountered many who have been diagnosed with dementia. Dementia is a term used to describe the symptoms caused by certain diseases or conditions of the brain of which there are two main types; Alzheimer’s disease and Multi Infarct dementia more commonly known as Vascular dementia. Dementia is caused by the death of nerve cells in the brain which cannot be replaced which means that dementia is a progressive condition that gets worse over time and cannot be reversed. It is also a long term condition because it takes months or even years to progress and there is no actual cure. (Alzheimer’s Society 2014) This degenerative condition is more common in older people, however,

155). There are many types of tests and approaches to cognitive assessments depending on the age of the person and symptoms currently experienced (Cordell et al. 147). These assessments are combined to ensure that there is a clear reason for concern, however, in the film, simply memory testing is done. During sessions with a neurologist, it is important if an informant, someone who has witnessed the change in cognition, is present during the diagnostic process (Cordell et al. 147). After informing Alice of this, she, alongside her husband, is tested through the repetition of sentences and ability to memorize a name and address. Alice’s neurologist merely tests her memory, while excluding other important examinable areas. If the cognitive assessments cause further concerns, a full dementia evaluation is conducted (Cordell et al. 147).

One of the hardest moments for not only the person with dementia, their caretaker, and their family, is deciding the appropriate time to relocate to an assisted living facility or a skilled nursing home. Like the variety of the disease symptoms and durations, the question of when to accept outside help also has different answers depending on the situation and the caregiver’s abilities and resources (Smith, J., 2016). Many caretakers may view the idea of placing their loved one in a home as a sense of failure on their part; however, it does not have to be this way. With the increasing demand for assisted living facilities and nursing homes, improvements in the standards of care for dementia patients as well as a shift towards more “patient-centered

According to the Alzheimer's Society diagnostic rates on average in the England are just under 48%, which despite being a two percent increase from 2012, means there are still around 416,000 people in England who are living with dementia but who are not diagnosed (Alzheimer's Society, 2014). In an effort to tackle dementia diagnosis the government in 2014 announced a £90 million package to improve services, which has lead to an increase in the number of referrals from primary care to memory assessment clinics (DoH, 2014). To meet the new demands on services it has becoming increasingly incumbent that psychologists and specialist nurses take on a new and active role in giving a diagnosis to their patients (Murphy & Gair, 2013; Page et al. 2008, & Griffths et al.

This is an 89-year-old, was transferred here from Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina on 01/21, for a multitude of problems including altered mental status. The patient can communicate but not well enough to really give a history. I have obtained all this history from her daughter Cynthia who works here at Mayview. I am told that Mamie was born in Edgecombe County right outside of Tarboro and she lived the majority of her life in those areas of Edgecombe County, Pitt County, and Martin County. She got married at the age of 19, and had 13 children. Three of the oldest children have died. Cynthia lives here in Raleigh and her sister Brenda works in Raleigh, but lives in Clayton. Mamie's husband died of some type of respiratory

Lack of access to specialists, geographical isolation and transportation challenges are some of the barriers for diagnosing dementia in rural areas. There has been suggestions for use of technology to overcome this as discussed in Table 8. [116, 117]

The reporting party (RP) stated she received a call from resident John Tedford who resides in the assisted living portion of the facility. The RP stated the resident does not have dementia and maintains his cognitive abilities. The RP stated the resident disclosed that money was stolen from his checking account. The RP stated the bank was contacted regarding the account and disclosed that the account was closed on 7/17/15. The bank informed the RP there were two checks issued that were not cashed. According to the RP the resident's checking account contained $10,500 and the savings account contained $169,000 at the time the accounts were closed. The RP stated the bank reissued the checks to the resident and mailed them to his wife's resident.

Today the first symptoms of dementia such as memory loss or problems with language lead to a diagnosis of the illness over varied amounts of time. It is not possible to get medication before the diagnosis. Therefore, diagnosing dementia early enables to have access to treatment, information and care. Yet according to the Department of Health, only 46% of the population living with the illness is diagnosed in the UK. The borough of Islington has an especially high rate of dementia diagnosis, with about 64% of the people living with the condition diagnosed. ​

Having a diagnosis of dementia means someone has had a decline in mental awareness sometimes it can be bad enough to restrict the patient’s ability to perform their activities of daily living. Many times memory loss is the first sign and symptoms. Since dementia is a life-limiting disease, it is essential that doctors and clinicians have the best tools available. In preparation for proposing Centra PACE replaces their current cognitive tool with the MoCA the writer will schedule a meeting with the Medical Director and Quality Coordinator to discuss the proposal. The writer would present all the relevant EBP data that identified a statistical significance that the MoCA could replace the MMSE the presentation would also show the data that proved the MoCA is a more accurate tool for assessing patients with (MCI). After receiving buy in from the Medical Director and Quality Coordinator, the writer would schedule a meeting with the Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Social Workers, and Registered Nurse of the Centra PACE program. In this meeting, the writer would offer the evidence about why the team should consider changing their cognitive assessment tool to the MoCA.

Advanced dementia can be seen as a deadly illness in itself or as a symptom involved in the human ageing process. A study proposed that a more beneficial way to approach the treatment for advanced dementia was to treat it as a terminal illness. People who have had advanced dementia experienced symptoms similar to those who were dying of terminal conditions, like cancer. Common symptoms include pain, agitation, and shortness of breath. It is said that three common immediate causes of death are from a fever, eating problems, or from pneumonia. A researcher from the Indiana University center for Aging Research, Greg Sachs, notes that the hospitalized patients with advanced dementia have

“The concept of dementia has been around since early civilizations. Ancient philosophers viewed mental decay as a normal part of ageing. The prevalence and study of dementia increased as the lifespan of humans extended. In the late 1800s, with advancements in medicine and the ability to look inside the brain, the medical community realized that diseases could cause this deterioration. The most common dementia was named, in 1910, after Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist.

Working in the field of medical testing, it is important to know that there will be a health risk when working on lab equipment, due to many hazardous chemical, many scientist risk their lives to find the right substance to find a cure. Each test has its own indication and contraindication. Tests being performed are expected to have no benefit for the individual being tested. Instead, the results may be useful for the establishment of statistics in order to improve health care for other individuals. Patients may give informed consent to undergo medical tests that will benefit other people. It is not just classify only to use for diseases but to find a relevant used of treatments. What is medical testing? What are some source of topic that relates to it? Medical testing is a kind of

I enjoyed listening to the speakers. I found the first speaker the most helpful. I later went to all the websites given as additional resources and found myself watching all the HBO documentaries on AD. It was 5:45 a.m. when I looked up. I am so caught up in the initial or pre-clinical assessment stage of this disease. I found the steps in the dementia diagnostic process helpful.