How’s Your Memory?

In Age Friendly health care, as provided at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, there is focus across many dimensions, including what we refer to as the four Ms:  What Matters to you, Mentation, Mobility and Medications. The Community Resource Center for Aging (aka: Resource Center) supports the health system with care to outpatient community members looking for information to prevent and/or address these concerns. The Resource Center, started as a pilot program in 2020, is now a full-time information and assistance program staffed by graduate-level resource specialists to provide free care coordination to more than 500 individuals each year. Mentation is a frequent focus of inquiries and options counseling to determine an individualized approach to health and social care aimed at improving the quality of one’s daily routine. 

People are often concerned about the decline of cognitive skills related to thinking, remembering, learning, communicating and making decisions, either in themselves or in a loved one. The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease: 2024 Update, which prioritizes support for people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) and their families. Supporting people with ADRD and their families and caregivers requires offering them the tools that they need, helping to plan for future needs and helping to ensure that safety and dignity are maintained.

But how to determine if we are beginning to experience cognitive decline? 

If you have Medicare Part B, you are entitled to an annual wellness visit at which time you can request a cognitive evaluation. These evaluations are a way for health care professionals to learn about your brain’s functioning and cognition to address any issues that you may be experiencing. The benefits of a cognitive evaluation include potentially identifying treatable health issues that may be influencing your cognition; allows for a baseline measurement to evaluate changes in the future; and provides the potential for early diagnosis and therefore, proactive planning. 

If you desire a cognitive evaluation because you are noticing changes in your thinking abilities, keeping a list of points you would like to discuss with your provider is a good idea. Also be sure to call ahead of your annual exam and let your doctor’s office know you’d like them to administer a cognitive evaluation during your visit so they can prepare and allow enough time for this to occur. For more information, such as the value of having a baseline cognitive evaluation, contact our resource specialists Monday through Friday for a complimentary phone consultation or to arrange an in office appointment. Email aging-resources@med.usc.edu or call (818) 949-4033.  

For more information about cognitive assessments: 

https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2022/cognitive-test.html, 

https://www.ncoa.org/article/ask-for-a-cognitive-evaluation-during-your-next-annual-wellness-visit/.