Primary vs. subspecialty care -: A structured follow-up of dementia patients and their caregivers

All dementia patients and their caregivers who had received a University-based comprehensive evaluation and a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease during 1997 (N = 80) were surveyed 1 year after their initial assessment. Of the original cohort 72.5% were contacted and two subgroups were defined. 31 patients were being seen only by their primary, care physicians (MED), and 27 patients were being treated in addition by a geriatric psychiatry faculty member (GERO). There were statistically significant differences between the two groups (MED vs. GERO, respectively) at follow-up in terms of: 1) hospitalization (39% vs. 15%; P<0.05); 2) cognitive status (P<0.05); and 3) prescription of donepezil at follow-up (35% vs. 64%; P<0.005). These differences need to be assessed in a larger-scale prospective study.