Characterising Australian memory clinics: current practice and service needs informing national service guidelines
Abstract Background Memory clinics (MCs) play a key role in accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment of dementia and mild cognitive impairment. However, within Australia, there are little data available on current practices in MCs, which hinder international comparisons for best practice, harmoni...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2022-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Geriatrics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03253-7 |
| _version_ | 1818474559190335488 |
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| author | Sharon L. Naismith Johannes C. Michaelian Lee-Fay Low Valerie Arsenova Inga Mehrani Katrina Fyfe Nicole A. Kochan Susan E. Kurrle Christopher Rowe Perminder S. Sachdev |
| author_facet | Sharon L. Naismith Johannes C. Michaelian Lee-Fay Low Valerie Arsenova Inga Mehrani Katrina Fyfe Nicole A. Kochan Susan E. Kurrle Christopher Rowe Perminder S. Sachdev |
| author_sort | Sharon L. Naismith |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Memory clinics (MCs) play a key role in accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment of dementia and mild cognitive impairment. However, within Australia, there are little data available on current practices in MCs, which hinder international comparisons for best practice, harmonisation efforts and national coordination. Here, we aimed to characterise current service profiles of Australian MCs. Methods The ‘Australian Dementia Network Survey of Expert Opinion on Best Practice and the Current Clinical Landscape’ was conducted between August-September 2020 as part of a larger-scale Delphi process deployed to develop national MC guidelines. In this study, we report on the subset of questions pertaining to current practice including wait-times and post-diagnostic care. Results Responses were received from 100 health professionals representing 60 separate clinics (45 public, 11 private, and 4 university/research clinics). The majority of participants were from clinics in metropolitan areas (79%) and in general were from high socioeconomic areas. While wait-times varied, only 28.3% of clinics were able to offer an appointment within 1-2 weeks for urgent referrals, with significantly more private clinics (58.3%) compared to public clinics (19.5%) being able to do so. Wait-times were less than 8 weeks for 34.5% of non-urgent referrals. Only 20.0 and 30.9% of clinics provided cognitive interventions or post-diagnostic support respectively, with 7.3% offering home-based reablement programs, and only 12.7% offering access to group-based education. Metropolitan clinics utilised neuropsychological assessments for a broader range of cases and were more likely to offer clinical trials and access to research opportunities. Conclusions In comparison to similar countries with comprehensive government-funded public healthcare systems (i.e., United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada), wait-times for Australian MCs are long, and post-diagnostic support or evidence-based strategies targeting cognition are not common practice. The timely and important results of this study highlight a need for Australian MCs to adopt a more holistic service of multidisciplinary assessment and post-diagnostic support, as well as the need for the number of Australian MCs to be increased to match the rising number of dementia cases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T04:37:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33d2dbe153774ba7b798fa1d0a908e18 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2318 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T04:37:43Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Geriatrics |
| spelling | doaj.art-33d2dbe153774ba7b798fa1d0a908e182022-12-22T02:11:47ZengBMCBMC Geriatrics1471-23182022-07-0122111310.1186/s12877-022-03253-7Characterising Australian memory clinics: current practice and service needs informing national service guidelinesSharon L. Naismith0Johannes C. Michaelian1Lee-Fay Low2Valerie Arsenova3Inga Mehrani4Katrina Fyfe5Nicole A. Kochan6Susan E. Kurrle7Christopher Rowe8Perminder S. Sachdev9School of Psychology, Charles Perkins Centre and the Brain and Mind Centre, University of SydneySchool of Psychology, Charles Perkins Centre and the Brain and Mind Centre, University of SydneyFaculty of Medicine and Health, University of SydneyCentre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesCentre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesSchool of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Western AustraliaCentre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesFaculty of Medicine and Health, University of SydneyDepartment of Molecular Imaging and Therapy, Austin Health, The University of MelbourneCentre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South WalesAbstract Background Memory clinics (MCs) play a key role in accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment of dementia and mild cognitive impairment. However, within Australia, there are little data available on current practices in MCs, which hinder international comparisons for best practice, harmonisation efforts and national coordination. Here, we aimed to characterise current service profiles of Australian MCs. Methods The ‘Australian Dementia Network Survey of Expert Opinion on Best Practice and the Current Clinical Landscape’ was conducted between August-September 2020 as part of a larger-scale Delphi process deployed to develop national MC guidelines. In this study, we report on the subset of questions pertaining to current practice including wait-times and post-diagnostic care. Results Responses were received from 100 health professionals representing 60 separate clinics (45 public, 11 private, and 4 university/research clinics). The majority of participants were from clinics in metropolitan areas (79%) and in general were from high socioeconomic areas. While wait-times varied, only 28.3% of clinics were able to offer an appointment within 1-2 weeks for urgent referrals, with significantly more private clinics (58.3%) compared to public clinics (19.5%) being able to do so. Wait-times were less than 8 weeks for 34.5% of non-urgent referrals. Only 20.0 and 30.9% of clinics provided cognitive interventions or post-diagnostic support respectively, with 7.3% offering home-based reablement programs, and only 12.7% offering access to group-based education. Metropolitan clinics utilised neuropsychological assessments for a broader range of cases and were more likely to offer clinical trials and access to research opportunities. Conclusions In comparison to similar countries with comprehensive government-funded public healthcare systems (i.e., United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada), wait-times for Australian MCs are long, and post-diagnostic support or evidence-based strategies targeting cognition are not common practice. The timely and important results of this study highlight a need for Australian MCs to adopt a more holistic service of multidisciplinary assessment and post-diagnostic support, as well as the need for the number of Australian MCs to be increased to match the rising number of dementia cases.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03253-7Memory clinics (MCs)Current clinical practiceDementiaStaffingReferralsCase conference |
| spellingShingle | Sharon L. Naismith Johannes C. Michaelian Lee-Fay Low Valerie Arsenova Inga Mehrani Katrina Fyfe Nicole A. Kochan Susan E. Kurrle Christopher Rowe Perminder S. Sachdev Characterising Australian memory clinics: current practice and service needs informing national service guidelines BMC Geriatrics Memory clinics (MCs) Current clinical practice Dementia Staffing Referrals Case conference |
| title | Characterising Australian memory clinics: current practice and service needs informing national service guidelines |
| title_full | Characterising Australian memory clinics: current practice and service needs informing national service guidelines |
| title_fullStr | Characterising Australian memory clinics: current practice and service needs informing national service guidelines |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterising Australian memory clinics: current practice and service needs informing national service guidelines |
| title_short | Characterising Australian memory clinics: current practice and service needs informing national service guidelines |
| title_sort | characterising australian memory clinics current practice and service needs informing national service guidelines |
| topic | Memory clinics (MCs) Current clinical practice Dementia Staffing Referrals Case conference |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03253-7 |
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