Clinical judgement by primary care physicians for the diagnosis of all‐cause dementia or cognitive impairment in symptomatic people
Samuel T CreavinAnna H Noel-StorrRyan J LangdonEdo RichardAlexandra L CreavinSarah CullumSarah PurdyYoav Ben-Shlomo
Abstract
In primary care, general practitioners (GPs) unavoidably reach a clinical judgement about a patient as part of their encounter with patients, and so clinical judgement can be an important part of the diagnostic evaluation. Typically clinical decision making about what to do next for a patient incorporates clinical judgement about the diagnosis with severity of symptoms and patient factors, such as their ideas and expectations for treatment. When evaluating patients for dementia, many GPs report using their own judgement to evaluate cognition, using information that is immediately available at the point of care, to decide whether someone has or does not have dementia, rather than more formal tests.
Referencias
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Review - Diagnostic