The Primary Care Memory Clinic initiative will expand to 17 more clinics across rural, remote, and underserviced communities in Ontario, including multiple AFHTO members, through the support of the Adopting Research to Improve Care (ARTIC) Program. Dr. Linda Lee of Centre for Family Medicine Family Health Team established the first primary care memory clinic in 2006. The clinics create a collaborative system that integrates primary and specialist care by training primary care teams, including physicians and other health care professionals to provide appropriate care for patients with memory disorders. This helps address gaps in care for those living with dementia, with teams managing up to 90 per cent of cases without relying on specialist referrals. More than 75 memory clinics across Ontario have been created. The new sites include the following AFHTO members:
- Bluewater and Area FHT (Zurich)
- Great Northern FHT (New Liskeard) in partnership with the Temagami FHT
- Harrow Health Centre Inc.: A Family Health Team
- Manitouwadge FHT
- North Shore FHT (Schreiber)
- Peninsula FHT (Lions Head)
- Red Lake FHT
- Timmins FHT
The Memory Clinic program has been previously recognized with a 2012 AFHTO Bright Lights Award and a 2014 Minister’s Medal. Relevant Links
- ARTIC Press Release – Jan. 26, 2017
- “ARTIC: Bringing innovation in from the cold” - Blog posted by Dr. Joshua Tepper on January 23, 2017
- Primary Care Memory Clinics: Improving the Care of Cognitively Impaired Patients within a Family Health Team – AFHTO 2010 Conference presentation