Posted by James
A total of 25,561 patient visit records of individu als over the age of 60 were included in the study population from NAMCS 2000-2002, which based on patient visit weights represented a national sample of 768 million office visits made to stand-alone, private physicians’ clinics by the elderly. The mean age associated with this population was 73.4 ±8.0 years. As shown from the study demographics in Table 1, the majority of the patient visit records were from white (89.2%) and female patients (59.1%). Public insurance, i.e., Medicare or Medicaid (67.3%), was the predominant form of insurance among the study population. Additionally, about one-third of the patient visit records were from physician practices located in the south (31.7%) and most of them were in a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) (81.5%).
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by James
This study included all the office-based physician visits included in the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) between 2000 and 2002 that were made by persons over the age of 60. A dementia/AD visit was defined based upon ICD-9 diagnosis codes for senile dementia, vascular dementia, AD and senility (290.xx, 294.9x, 331.xx and 797.xx). A cholinesterase inhibitor visit was defined as either one or more prescription indications for Aricept 10 mg, Generic Exelon, galantamine and tacrine.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by James
INTRODUCTION
Dementia is a neuropsychiatric disorder marked by irreparable deterioration of brain tissue that leads to widespread memory loss, reduction in cognitive abilities and functional decline. This debilitating condition is more prevalent among women and African Americans, and approximately 60% of all dementia cases are associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Dementia has an estimated prevalence of 6-10% among the elderly population in the United States. Since a diagnosis of AD is largely by exclusion, favorable patient outcomes are contingent upon early detection.
Read the rest of this entry »
