OBJECTIVE: The objective of the trial was to investigate the differences in the management of cognitively impaired and demented patients in Germany between GPs and neurologists/psychiatrists in private practice. METHODS: A standardized questionnaire was sent out to all 129 GPs affiliated with the German Competence Network Dementia (CND; response rate 84%), 260 randomly selected GPs (response rate 40%) and 239 randomly selected neurologists/psychiatrists (response rate 40%) in private practice. RESULTS: Overall, GPs and neurologists/psychiatrists showed a positive attitude towards the care of dementia patients. Both GPs and specialists emphasized the importance of providing social support to patients and caregivers and viewed medical treatment options favorably. Furthermore there was broad affirmation of early diagnosis and disclosure of the diagnosis. However, several hints suggest the presence of communication difficulties between physicians and patients, e.g. 70% of both professional groups provided more detailed information to relatives than patients. Differences between GPs and neurologists/psychiatrists were found regarding, for example, the use of cognitive tests and subjective competence in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, but differences were small. DISCUSSION: Due to the study methods the information gained from this survey must be handled with care. Anyway, differences between GPs and neurologists/psychiatrists in private practice concerning their care for cognitively impaired and demented patients were much smaller than expected. The general attitude towards this group of patients was positive.
