Objective: To examine the practice patterns of family physicians in diagnosing and managing patients with dementia.
Design: In-depth structured interviews.
Setting: Metropolitan Toronto family practices.
Participants: Twenty family physicians who referred patients to a specialized community psychiatry service for the elderly in the previous year.
Method: Two vignettes focusing on diagnosis and management issues were developed for the study. Physicians were asked how they would handle the clinical problems presented in the vignettes. Their responses were compared to standardized diagnostic and management protocols.
Main findings: Participants were more comfortable with diagnosing dementia than with ongoing management issues, and most physicians were not using standardized cognitive screening protocols. Physicians were more oriented to immediate medical and psychiatric problems than to long-term psychosocial issues.
Conclusions: More attention should be paid to the ongoing educational needs of family physicians with respect to this patient population.