2008 California Guideline for Alzheimer's Disease Management

Increasingly, Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is being viewed as a public health threat with prevalence is expected to double in the next 20 years (Alzheimer's Association, 2007). In an effort to improve Alzheimer's care, California's Department of Public Health convened the California Workgroup on Guidelines for Alzheimer's Disease Management, consisting of physicians, researchers, psychologists, nurses and care managers. The original guideline was produced in 1998 and updated in 2002. Its emphasis on integrating primary care with community supports stimulated the development of numerous implementation projects.. It was also unique in its emphasis on culturally sensitive management of AD.

The California Workgroup is targeting April as a release date for the 2008 version of the Guideline. Since its last iteration in 2002, there have been a number of evidence-based changes in the management of Alzheimer's disease. The revised guideline will cover these including:

· The development of a new class of medications for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, the NMDA receptor agonist.

· The emergence of a class of early stage patients and evidence about management strategies beneficial to them.

· A growing body of evidence on the impact of psychotropic medications for behavioral symptoms.

· A better understanding of the management of end of life care for people with Alzheimer's disease.

The proposed presentation will cover the process for the development of the Guideline; review its content, emphasizing areas that have seen evidence-based change in practice; and, give an overview of planned dissemination and implementation strategies developed by the California Workgroup.