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ERIC Number: EJ876656
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Apr
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0016-9013
EISSN: N/A
Primary Care Physicians' Dementia Care Practices: Evidence of Geographic Variation
Fortinsky, Richard H.; Zlateva, Ianita; Delaney, Colleen; Kleppinger, Alison
Gerontologist, v50 n2 p179-191 Apr 2010
Purpose: This article explores primary care physicians' (PCPs) self-reported approaches and barriers to management of patients with dementia, with a focus on comparisons in dementia care practices between PCPs in 2 states. Design and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, questionnaires were mailed to 600 randomly selected licensed PCPs in Connecticut and to all 1,017 licensed PCPs in Maine. Results: A total of 422 eligible PCPs responded. Nearly 90% of PCPs prescribed donepezil in the previous year for their dementia patients. Connecticut PCPs were more likely to prescribe several other therapeutics than their Maine counterparts. Connecticut PCPs were more likely to refer dementia patients to adult day care (85% vs. 59%) but less likely to refer to Area Agencies on Aging (21% vs. 44%; both ps less than 0.05); referral rates to Alzheimer's Association chapters were low in both states (30%). A greater proportion of Connecticut PCPs reported barriers to optimal dementia care, including time constraints (54% vs. 31% of Maine PCPs), unfamiliarity with community resources (46% vs. 30%), and reimbursement constraints (45% vs. 23%; all ps [less than or equal] 0.05). Two thirds of PCPs were "very" or "somewhat" interested in using information technology to assist with dementia diagnosis and management; controlling for other variables, youngest PCPs were more than twice as likely as oldest to profess such interest (adjusted odds ratio = 2.04; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02-4.08). Implications: Geographic variations are evident in PCP medication prescription patterns, community resource referral patterns, and reported barriers to optimal dementia care. Younger PCPs are more likely to adopt information technology to assist in dementia diagnosis and management.
Oxford University Press. Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, UK. Tel: +44-1865-353907; Fax: +44-1865-353485; e-mail: jnls.cust.serv@oxfordjournals.org; Web site: http://gerontologist.oxfordjournals.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Connecticut; Maine
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A