Pharmacy dementia support
September 1, 2015
Pharmacists have a significant
role in helping support patients
with dementia and their carers
according to Dementia Caring ceo
Jon Kontopos (pictured).
Speaking to Pharmacy Daily at
the commencement
of Dementia
Awareness Month,
Kontopos said
“as the most
accessible healthcare
professional,
pharmacists are in
a unique position
to help patients
remain in a stable and
familiar environment
such as in their own home, a
critically important element of
supporting these patients and their
carers”.
With the theme of ‘Creating
a Dementia-Friendly Nation’
Dementia Awareness Month in
September aims to highlight how
“medication and care go hand in
hand”.
Pharmacists can offer information
about home care services, leaflets,
My Aged Care website and
homecare brochures, he told PD.
Particularly important is a level
of awareness of the prevalence of
the disease, to enable sensitivity to
behavioural or psychological signs
of dementia.
Triggers for referral for further
investigation with the general
practitioner include too little or
too much medication use, perhaps
the presence of a customer in
the pharmacy without a specific
reason, the classic dementiainduced
“wandering aimlessly
in familiar places”
syndrome, or a noticeable
change of weight.
Kontopos added that
signs of dementia can
often be misdiagnosed
as depression and may
need further analysis by
a geriatrician, psychiatrist
or neurologist.
An important support
for keeping dementia
patients in a familiar environment
is the use of Home Care providers
such as Catholic Care, King Care and
Dementia Caring.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 01 Sep 15To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 01 Sep 15
