By: Edward Ratner, MD
Handouts – Beyond Diagnosis – Rehabilitation Aspects in Dementia 8.16.18
Dementia is a broad category of brain diseases that cause a long-term and often gradual decrease in the ability to think and remember that is great enough to affect a person’s daily functioning. The medical approach in dementia care often focuses entirely on diagnosis and pharmacological treatment followed by referral to community services. Non-pharmacological interventions are increasingly being recognized as an important adjunct/alternative for dementia treatments. This presentation addresses the limited success in prevention and pharmacological treatment, and highlights the value of socialization, recreation, communication, and the helpful role of rehabilitation team members.
Learning Objectives:
- Utilize DSM-5 terminology to describe dementia and neurocognitive disorders (NCD)
- Describe the goals of care for patients with major NCD
- Explain the poor evidence to support efforts to prevent NCD or affect NCD with medications
- Effectively communicate with patients with dementia
- Build socialization and recreation into care plans for patients with dementia
Edward Ratner, MD is an internist and geriatrician with over 30 years of experience in all settings of care. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota and the Associate Director for Education and Evaluation at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. He has served as the President of the American Academy of Home Care Medicine and for the state Geriatrics Society.