DiADeM (dementia diagnostics)

This is the Diagnosing Advanced Dementia Mandate (DiADeM) app.

A diagnosis of dementia is usually made within memory services. Some care home residents with advanced dementia have never had a formal diagnosis. In these cases a referral to memory services is rarely desirable. It is likely to be distressing for the individual and is usually unnecessary.

People with advanced dementia, their families and staff caring for them, still benefit from a formal diagnosis. It enables access to appropriate care to meet individual needs and prompts staff to consider MCA and DOLs issues where appropriate.
A diagnosis of dementia can be made with a high degree of certainty if all five criteria listed below are met:

1 - Functional Impairment
2 - Cognitive Impairment
3 - Corroborating History
4 - Investigations
5 - Exclusion Criteria

If dementia is confirmed, please add this patient to your GP practice dementia register using the recommended codes. Consent should be sought for this from the person themselves or a family carer where the individual lacks capacity.

This is an app designed to be used by healthcare professionals to assist when interviewing residents of Care Homes and Nursing Homes where a diagnosis of dementia is a possibility.

It gives the clinical the choice of using two different cognitive assessment tools (GP COG and 6 CIT) to support a diagnostic interview - at the end of which the app will report whether a diagnosis of dementia is indicated or not. The resulting Diadem Report is then emailed to the patient's GP.