Education and Care with Dementia: Questions to Ask Your Doctor
When it comes to providing proper care for an individual with Alzheimers disease, it is essential that family members and care givers are able to work together with their loved ones health care providers. Maintaining open communication between the physician and the individual with dementia is quite important and the more questions you are able to ask the physician the more you will be able to understand the disease and the treatment solutions available. Your loved one should always be accompanied by a friend or family member when they visit the doctor and while visiting these health care professionals, here are a few questions you may want to ask.
- Are there any concerns I should have about the medications they are taking, any side effects or issues that can result from mixing these medications? (make sure you bring a current list of medications)
- Are there any other tests that need to be taken that could provide us with more information on their dementia and how it is progressing?
- What is your professional estimate on the progression of their dementia and what can we expect in terms of a time span for progression?
- Are there any additional treatment options that we should be exploring or considering? What are the potential side effects of these treatments?
- Do you have any additional recommendations along with medication, such as diet modifications that can help this individual live a better or healthier life? Are there any vitamins or exercise programs that we should be considering?
- What are your recommendations for in-home care or care facilities?
- Is there any additional information that you have about community resources, support groups, workshops or other activities that may benefit us?
- Can you speak to the other health care providers that we are seeing for treatment?
- How often should we be making appointments to come see you for care?
- Do you have any additional recommendations to improve the quality of life of my loved one?