PREDICTIVE PROPERTIES OF REFERRAL COMMUNICATIONS FOR MENTAL-ILLNESS AND DEMENTIA IN A COMMUNITY

As a measure of community awareness, this study examined the predictiv e properties of the diagnoses in referral communications for mental il lness and dementia in elderly people. The patients were referred to th e Aged Care Assessment Team from diversified sources over an 18-month period, the referral initiators being the general practitioner (GP), c ommunity nurse, family and others. There were 90 patients with dementi a and 32 with psychiatric disorders. The referral letters were examine d retrospectively as to the content and yield identifying a definite o r possible diagnosis of dementia or psychiatric illness. The GP and co mmunity nurse had comparable rates of success as compared with the oth er two groups. The ability of the GP and other groups to diagnose func tional psychiatric disorders was generally negative.