A Multidisciplinary Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease: Who Should Be Members of the Team?

The treatment goal for persons with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is to maintain the highest level of function possible and to minimize behavioral disturbances. Since multiple factors have an impact on function, a multidisciplinary approach to treatment and care is most effective. Whereas the primary-care physician can diagnose AD in most patients, data collection and routine examinations can be conducted by a nurse practitioner/clinical nurse specialist, and nonprofessional staff can often do mental status testing. Nutritionists, pharmacists, geropsychiatrists, home-healthcare case managers, elder-law attorneys, support services, and caregivers all fill important roles as members of the “AD team.” With two AD drugs currently available and several impending new introductions, pharmacotherapy is becoming an increasingly more critical treatment option.