title: Building capacity for dementia care: training program to develop primary care memory clinics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Currently, dementia care provided by family physicians is suboptimal and access to specialist resources is limited. With the aging population, there is a need for system-wide, programmatic interventions to improve the diagnosis and management of patients with memory difficulties. The development of primary care memory clinics addresses this need.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The Memory Clinic Training Program aims to develop highly functioning interprofessional memory clinics that assist family physicians in providing improved care for patients with dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment.
  
  
  METHODS
  The interprofessional training program consists of a 2-day case-based workshop, 1 day of observership and clinical training at the Centre for Family Medicine Memory Clinic, and 2 days of on-site mentorship at each newly formed memory clinic.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Memory Clinic Training Program is an accredited, comprehensive program designed to assist family practice groups with developing primary care memory clinics. These clinics aim to transform the current limited practice capability of individual family physicians into a systematic, comprehensive, interprofessional health care service that improves capacity and quality of primary care for patients with cognitive impairment and dementia.
authors.affiliation: The Centre for Family Medicine, 10 B Victoria St S, Kitchener, ON N2G 1C5. joelinda5@rogers.com
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: M Janet
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kasperski
authors.forename: W Wayne
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Weston
mesh_terms: D057191:Capacity Building; D003704:Dementia / Q000628:therapy*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D009864:Ontario; D010821:Physicians, Family; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016730:Program Development