A professional diagnosis is an important step in living well with dementia. Early diagnosis allows people to access treatment, information, advice and support sooner. It also gives people living with dementia and their families the opportunity to plan for the future. If pharmacy professionals notice a change in somebody and consider that they could be showing early signs of dementia, they may want to suggest that the patient see their GP or signpost them to relevant information. Pharmacy professionals are also in an ideal position to reassure that person and encourage them to seek help early. 

Dementia can be confused with other conditions that have similar symptoms and a professional diagnosis will rule these out. For example, depression, chest and urinary tract infections, severe constipation and vitamin and thyroid deficiencies can have similar symptoms and presentations, but these are all treatable. A review of the person’s medicines should identify and minimise the use of drugs, including over-the-counter products that may adversely affect cognitive function. In addition a diagnosis can rule out other possible causes of confusion and emotional change.

Once other conditions have been ruled out, the person should be assessed for the presence of dementia. There is no single test for dementia and a diagnosis is based on a combination of assessments and tests. 

If dementia is suspected after an initial assessment in a non-specialist settings, the person will be referred to a specialist diagnostic service, such as a memory clinic, where further tests and more detailed memory tests can be carried out. More information on assessment and diagnosing dementia is available within the NICE guideline (NG97) Dementia: assessment, management and support for people living with dementia and their carers.