Dr. Tariot shares the best way for newly diagnosed Alzheimer's patients and their families to advocate for their health.
Dr. Tariot:
I think the best way to advocate for oneself is to get good medical care, get the family involved because actually the family is affected as well and wants to know and understand what lies ahead, how to adapt, how to maintain autonomy, improve quality of life, deploy community resources. So I think the idea of working as a team, with a team, is the best way to go.
Work with somebody who really gets it, you know, what is this illness and how do we attack it, how do we get some mastery over this. It could be one’s primary care doctor in partnership, for instance, with the Alzheimer’s Association which is a great resource or it may be that somebody will want to go beyond that and see specialists working alone or in groups, or centers of excellence such as exist at the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, but also around the state at institutions comprising the Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, Mayo Clinic, Barrow, Sun Health, University of Arizona; all great places with teams that can work with the family to really get a handle on, how do we move forward, and not feel like it’s a death sentence, because it’s not.
About Dr. Tariot:
Dr. Pierre Tariot is board-certified in internal medicine and geriatric psychiatry at Banner Alzheimer’s Institute. He has devoted his career to helping thousands of patients and families cope with dementia. He is also a world leader in the development of new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of memory loss.
View Dr. Tariot Videos:
https://www.empowher.com/users/dr-pierre-tariot
Visit Dr. Tariot at the Banner Alzheimer's Institute