Inquire about the patient’s current living situation. Ask about feelings of neglect or abuse and look for signs (e.g., weight loss, contusions, pressure sores, or poor hygiene) that might indicate an unsafe home environment.

An aging prison population means more people who are incarcerated will experience dementia and related symptoms.

Is an overburdened at-home caregiver the physician’s responsibility?

Is an overburdened at-home caregiver the physician’s responsibility?

As a matter of medical ethics, physicians must address the health care needs of and be advocates for family caregivers of their patients with dementia.

We must expand our efforts to integrate humanities training into premedical programs and graduate medical education.

Caring for the elderly imposes financial burdens and strains families. System changes are necessary to mitigate these problems.

Physicians need to help surrogate decision makers to make treatment and end-of-life decisions for those with severe neurological damage by proving a realistic prognosis and maintain strong lines of communication.