Medicare covers a variety of medical services for the elderly, but with something as common and severe as dementia, one would think that screening services are detailed and accurate. According to recent research this is not the case at all.
Screening for dementia allows patients to recognize the problem at its early signs and effectively take preventative and treatment actions after diagnosis. In order for this to be the case, screenings must be detailed and should essentially leave the patient with more answers rather than more questions.
For the elderly, risk of dementia increases with age and could lead to conditions such as Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, but there are ways of treating it before it gets out of hand.
Medicare covers dementia screenings, but these screenings consist of about 30 basic questions that can easily be completed in about 10 minutes. According to the U.S Preventative Services Task Force, a group of medical experts, this simple test gives off insufficient results because the test shows indications of latter signs of dementia rather than early signs.
The recommendations for people who want to be tested for early signs of dementia is to undergo the initial screening that is covered by Medicare and then later on have regular follow-up assessments in order to see how the problem is developing.