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Nov. 20, 2006 -- Helping the caregiver of a loved one with dementia can help the patient as well, new research suggests.
Two studies, both published in the Nov. 21 Annals of Internal Medicine, highlight the importance of supporting family members who care for patients with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.
But support services are rare, and they are not likely to become the norm unless federal policy makers recognize their value, according to an accompanying editorial.
"Patients with dementia will probably not be forming a lobby anytime soon, and their caregivers are too busy. It is time for the medical profession to advocate on their behalf," write Kenneth E. Covinsky, MD, MPH, and C. Bree Johnston, MD, MPH, of the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
Team-Based Approach
Covinsky and Johnston fault the MedicareMedicare system and other providers for failing to recognize the needs of home-based dementia patients and their caregivers, despite the fact that unpaid family and community caregivers save the system billions of dollars each year.
They also cited as another major public health failing Medicare's failure to pay for team-based management ? with a team of different professionals with the needed expertise -- for elderly patients with dementia.
"One of the ironies of dementia care is that expensive technological diagnostic procedures are paid for with no questions asked, but almost nothing is spent to support caregivers," Covinsky tells WebMD.
"We spend up the wazoo to diagnose this disease, but once it is diagnosed, patients can't get what they need," he says.