An innovative five-year project to integrate leading-edge research and care for dementia patients has been announced.
Island Health, the University of Victoria, and the University of BC have joined to launch a research project to help improve the diagnosis and treatment of dementia. A Victoria family, impacted by cognitive health issues, has pledged $2.5 million to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation to fund the program, the Neil and Susan Manning Cognitive Health Initiative.
Dr. Marilyn Malone, Medical Director for Seniors Health, Island Health says a dementia guidance system will track a cluster of patient's symptoms, treatment plans and outcomes.
"All that information is going to be continuously populated into the system, so it's not just a static registry. This information is continually fed in and the results analyzed in real time."
Over time these tools will be available for use by family physicians to assist with early diagnosis and care across Vancouver Island.