A poll of GPs in the UK has shown primary care doctors want to prescribe assistive technologies to patients diagnosed with dementia.
Dementia care
More than two-thirds (67%) of GPs in the UK would like to be able to prescribe assistive technologies to their patients when they areย diagnosed with dementia, suggests new research. The nationally representative poll of GPs was conducted by theย Longitude Prize on Dementia, which is funded by Alzheimerโs Society and Innovate UK, and delivered by Challenge Works.
It sought to better understand doctor’s opinions on the potential use of technology in helping people and families affected by dementia.
Other findings from the GP poll include:
- 88% believe that people living with dementia who can live in their own homes will live more fulfilling lives.
- 77% believe that people living with dementia will live longer if they can remain in their own homes.
- 87% believe the majority of their patients with early-stage dementia would benefit from technology that was designed for their condition.
Assistive technologies
76% of GPs surveyed worry that their patients may become trapped in their own homes because ofย anxietyย and fear about getting lost. Many of the GPs polled believe their patients would benefit from responsive tech such as an intuitive app to help them navigate their community, tech that reminds people to take medications, or smart glasses that could tell them who they are looking at.
Challenging the outdated stereotype that older people are tech-averse, half (49%) of GPs also say that the majority of their early-stage dementia patients use technology in their everyday lives.
Many GPs are already advising their dementia patients to use existing technology to manage their conditions, with 64% of family doctors recommending tech-related hacks. These could include adding simple reminders to take medications on phones and smart speakers.
The findings also highlight the need for innovators to consider the progressive nature of dementia in the design of new assistive technologies so that they adapt to the personโs changing condition. 84% say that technologies supposedly designed for all (like phones, tablets and TVs) are not designed with patients living with dementia in mind.
Responses
Dame Louise Robinson, GP and Professor of Primary Care and Ageing, Newcastle University said: โTechnology, especially if it is used as part of a package of person-centred support, can help people with dementia live at home longer, which is the ultimate goal.โ
Kate Lee, CEO of Alzheimerโs Society stated: โItโs exciting that soon we may have potential new treatments that could slow the progress ofย Alzheimerโs disease, but alongside this we need to urgently push forward ways of helping people with dementia right now.ย We believe tech involving people with dementia, for people with dementia, can be a key way of doing this”.
Curiaโsย Dementia Commission:
Curiaโsย Dementia Commission brings national, regional and local leaders together to implement a plan to set out a plan to improve the life chances of all people living with dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions. A panel of Commissioners with a specialism in neurodegeneration will be convened to help the Curia research team produce solutions to improve implementation. Case studies on neurodegenerative conditions and good examples of best practice will feature at a series of inquiry sessions and in the final report.
Four roundtable inquiries will create a vision for what the environment needs to look like to support people with neurodegenerative conditions, namely dementia and be ready for future treatment pathways. The roundtables will produce recommendations for how outcomes can be improved. Stakeholders will include clinical leads, commissioners and regulators including NICE, NHS England and patient organisations. Each roundtable will have a remit to look at how pre-existing policy can be implemented, identifying where gaps exist in the policy landscape and setting a series of recommendations to explore the improvement in the system for patients with a neurodegenerative condition.
Curia will publish the findings at a Parliamentary launch alongside the reports from roundtables to ensure maximum engagement.