Vast Majority of People With Dementia Don't Receive Specialty Diagnosis or Care

A study in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association found most older Americans do not consult with a dementia specialist, with specialty care especially low among Hispanics and Asians, reports USC News . The researchers analyzed Medicare data to pinpoint dementia diagnoses among some 250,000 people over five years, and 85 percent of people first diagnosed with dementia were diagnosed by a non-dementia specialist, with "unspecified dementia" diagnoses a frequent outcome. Twelve months following diagnosis, fewer than 25 percent of subjects had seen a specialist, which only rose to 36 percent after five years. A third received a diagnosis that lacked a specific type of dementia, versus 22 percent diagnosed by a specialist. Diagnoses of Alzheimer's among those who saw a specialist within the first year of diagnosis were 42 percent compared to 29 percent among those who did not. About 37 percent of Hispanics and 40 percent of Asians with an initial dementia diagnosis had no follow-up care within the first year of diagnosis, whereas whites and African Americans each had a rate of roughly 33 percent. "While the study shows that specialists seem to be able to identify the subtype better, what we're really interested in is whether that leads to better health and financial outcomes," said the University of Southern California's Julie Zissimopoulos. "If, in the future, these diagnoses are going to be handled in large part by non-dementia specialists, they may need better training and tools."