Residents of Haizhu District in Guangzhou can now visit the “National-Level” Cognitive Center expert clinic right at their doorstep. Starting from July 31st, experts from the Memory and Cognitive Impairment Center of Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, will regularly hold clinics at the Community Health Service Center as the “Zhujiang Memory Clinic.” The initial locations are at Shayuan Street, Changgang Street, and Jiangnan Middle Street, with plans to expand to other community health service centers in Haizhu District.
It is understood that besides assisting in the early screening, diagnosis, and treatment of cognitive function disorders, Zhujiang Hospital will also collaborate with the community health centers to explore a “home care bed” management model for moderately severe dementia patients and other disabled patients.
The Memory and Cognitive Impairment Center will shift the focus of prevention and treatment.
Epidemiological studies show that currently, there are over 53 million cognitive impairment patients aged 60 and above in China, with 15.07 million of them being dementia patients. However, the current situation of diagnosis and treatment is not optimistic. Survey data reveals that about 70% of elderly dementia patients have never sought medical help for cognitive-related issues, and nearly 60% of Alzheimer’s disease patients only seek medical attention after experiencing significant memory decline. Only 10.06% of cognitive impairment patients are diagnosed through physical examinations or cognitive screening.
In order to increase public awareness of prevention and treatment knowledge for elderly dementia and the cognitive screening rate among the elderly in communities and villages, Professor Guo Hongbo, the Director of Zhujiang Hospital, led the establishment of the Memory and Cognitive Impairment Specialty Center. This center comprises multiple departments dedicated to early diagnosis, differential diagnosis, rehabilitation training, and scientific research on Alzheimer’s disease. It has developed a comprehensive management system for diagnosis, assessment, rehabilitation, and medication treatment of cognitive impairment patients.
In October 2023, this center successfully obtained national-level certification and became a national advanced cognitive impairment diagnosis and treatment center.
Professor Li Yang, an expert at the Memory and Cognitive Impairment Center of Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, and Deputy Director of the Geriatrics Department, introduced that since the opening of the “Zhujiang Memory Clinic” at Changgang Street Community Health Service Center in Haizhu District, they have already seen several residents suspected of having Alzheimer’s disease. “Some symptoms are quite typical, such as recent memory decline, unclear language expression, and getting lost on the way home,” he said.
Can families also be “treatment centers”?
Zhujiang Hospital is exploring the “home care bed” management model.
To address the prominent issues of low early diagnosis rates, ineffective treatment outcomes, and lack of standardized diagnosis and treatment processes of cognitive impairment diseases, the Memory and Cognitive Impairment Center of Zhujiang Hospital has established an “Alzheimer’s Disease Full Support System” that involves effective linkage among hospitals, communities, and families covering early screening, non-pharmacological treatment, and disease rehabilitation.
This system designates the community as the screening center to manage high-risk populations of Alzheimer’s disease using chronic disease management methods. It designates families and hospitals as centers for rehabilitation and treatment, focusing on non-pharmacological treatment combined with medication therapy to provide individualized, standardized, and precise prevention and treatment for the public.
“Families play a crucial role in caring for cognitive impairment patients, but face many challenges, with the lack of professional personnel being one of the significant reasons.” To help overcome these challenges, Zhujiang Hospital has collaborated with communities to explore the management model of “home care beds” for moderately severe dementia and other disabled patients. Recently, experts from the Cognitive Center of Zhujiang Hospital and medical staff from Changgang Street Community Health Service Center formed a medical joint team to visit patients’ homes for detailed bedside inspections, understand patients’ conditions, home care, and family environments, provide personalized diagnosis and treatment advice, rehabilitation guidance, educate family members on health, and provide psychological counseling to help residents better care for patients and improve the quality of family life.
Written by Reporter Xue Renzheng, Correspondent Cao Mengyao, Ning Pingzhi, Wu Xiaodan
Images provided by interviewed individuals
