GPs and assistive tech
Many GPs believe that assistive technologies could bring substantial benefits to their patients with dementia, particularly devices like an intuitive app to help them navigate their community, gadgets reminding them to take medications, and smart glasses to tell them who they are looking at.
According to an Alzheimer’s Society survey, 76% of GPs worry that their patients may become trapped in their own homes because of anxiety or fear about getting lost. Two thirds of GPs told the poll, conducted by the Longitude Prize on Dementia which is funded by the Society, they would like to be able to prescribe assistive tech to their patients when diagnosed with dementia.
Other findings from the GP poll were that 88% thought people with dementia would have more fulfilling lives if they can stay in their own homes, 77% thought people would live longer if they stayed at home, and 87% believed that the majority of their patients with early-stage dementia would benefit from technology designed for their condition.