Are general practitioners able to accurately diagnose dementia and identify Alzheimer's disease? A comparison with an outpatient memory clinic.

Since the introduction of agents for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, and in order to increase understanding of a patient's changed behaviour, it has become particularly important that dementia is both diagnosed at an early stage and differentiated into its subtypes. This study aims to ascertain whether GPs were able to diagnose dementia and identify the type of dementia accurately and confidently. GPs were well able to assess the firmness of their own dementia diagnoses, which supposes that they are able to make appropriate selection for referral. Diagnostic support from a specialised team can particularly contribute to identifying the type of dementia.