[Limited cognitive assessment in primary care: are GP referrals to the memory clinic always appropriate?]

Objective: To investigate whether referrals of general practitioners (GPs) to the memory clinic align with the regional and national dementia guidelines.

Design: For this single center retrospective study, data was collected from electronic patient files.

Method: GP referrals to the memory clinic over a 1-year period were categorized and evaluated according to the regional and national guidelines.

Results: 310 GP referrals were included with the most common referral motivations: "Additional somatic or psychiatric factors" (77; 24,8%) and "Straightforward dementia diagnosis" (70; 22,6%). A total of 51,0% of referrals were not in line with regional guidelines: either because of non-compliant referral reasons; or limited cognitive assessment without clinical findings and/or cognitive testing.

Conclusion: Half of GP referrals to the memory clinic were not in line with the national and regional guidelines. Referrals were often not preceded by clinical findings and/or cognitive testing. Aiming for effective care, cognitive assessments in primary care should be encouraged and with appropriate assistance.