GP's play an important role in the prevention of many chronic illnesses and dementia is no exception. Marita talks with Dr Kate Gregorovic about the importance of discussing this with patients in their 40s and 50s, particularly the importance of doing so with women. SHOW NOTES:Dementia AustraliaProviding support, information and services for people living with dementia, carers, family and health professionals National Dementia Helpline – 1800100500https://www.dementia.org.au/ Dementia Support Australia (DSA)Dementia Support Australia (DSA) provides the Dementia Behaviour Management Advisory Service (DBMAS) and Severe Behaviour Response Teams (SBRT) nationwide. Dementia Support Australia offers a free national service operating 24/7 365 days a year. 24 hour Helpline 18000699799https://www.dementia.com.au/ Carers AustraliaCarers Australia is the national peak body representing Australia’s unpaid carers, advocating on their behalf to influence policies and services at a national level. It works collaboratively with partners and its member organisations, the Network of state and territory Carers Associations, to deliver a range of essential national carer services. Phone 1800242636https://www.carersaustralia.com.au/ RACGP Silver BookMedical care of older persons in residential aged care facilities (Silver Book) aims to provide GPs and other health professionals including residential aged care nurses, with a resource for delivering quality health care in residential aged care facilities. https://www.racgp.org.au/clinical-resources/clinical-guidelines/ key-racgp-guidelines/view-all-racgp-guidelines/silver-book RACGP Red Book - Guidelines for preventative activities in general practice - Dementia https://www.racgp.org.au/clinical-resources/clinical-guidelines/ key-racgp-guidelines/view-all-racgp-guidelines/red-book/ preventive-activities-in-older-age/dementia My Aged Care - dementia resourceshttps://www.myagedcare.gov.au/getting-started/health- conditions/dementia Cognitive Screening Tests Standardised Mini-Mental State Examination (SMMSE)Frequently used in general practice as included in most popular medical software programs. MMSE score require for prescribing dementia medications on PBS https://www.ihpa.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/ smmse-tool-v2.pdf - https://www.ihpa.gov.au/sites/g/files/ net636/f/publications/smmse-guidelines-v2.pdf—explanation of scoring GPCOGThe GPCOG is a reliable, valid and efficient instrument to screen for dementia specifically in a primary care setting. The GPCOG score is not influenced by the cultural and linguistic background of a person making it an invaluable screening tool especially in multicultural patient settings. http://gpcog.com.au/ Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment (KICA) The Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment (KICA) was developed in response to the need for a cognitive screening tool for older Indigenous Australians (45 years plus) living in rural and remote areas. The KICA tool was named after where the original research was conducted and comprises of a number of sections and assesses the person and carer. The KICA tool is now widely used in remote or rural locations across Australia. http://kams.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/KICA-Tool- 2006.pdf Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS)The Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) is a short cognitive screening instrument designed to minimise the effects of cultural learning and language diversity on the assessment of baseline cognitive performance. https://www.dementia.org.au/sites/default/ files/20110311_2011NSWRUDASscoring_sheet.pdf - the test https://www.dementia.org.au/resources/rowland-universal- dementia-assessment-scale-rudas - information and links to tests in Chinese and Italian Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)The MoCA is well validated and covers a number of cognitive domains. If repeat tests are required, two alternative versions are available with instructions on the MoCA Test website. The tests are also available in many different European and Asian languages.https://www.mocatest.org/paper/ (Free registration required) GP Management Plans Dementia specific GP management plans for Stages 1, 2 and 3 dementiahttps://www.dta.com.au/gp-management-plans/ Dementia Training Australia - online courseshttps://www.dta.com.au/online-dementia-courses/ Demystifying dementia: A practical course in the diagnosis and management of dementiaHours: 3https://dta.com.au/online-courses/demystifying-dementia/ Demystifying dementia: A practical course in the diagnosis and management of dementiaHours: 2 | RACGP: 4pts | ACRRM: 2hrs https://www.thinkgp.com.au/education/demystifying-dementia- practical-course-diagnosis-and-management-dementia Teaching plans for GP supervisors to use with their registrarshttps://gpsupervisorsaustralia.org.au/teaching-plans/(NB Enter term Dementia into search function to find teaching plans on dementia) Wicking Dementia Research ...
