28: Make It Routine: Screening for Cognitive Decline in Primary Care

Dementia cases are rising—but early detection can slow cognitive decline, improve quality of life, and reduce caregiver burden. In this special World Brain Day episode of Primary Viewpoints, geriatrician Anna Chodos, MD, joins us to discuss why routine cognitive screening should be standard in primary care settings. Dr Chodos outlines actionable steps primary care teams can take to incorporate brief cognitive and functional assessments during routine visits, including tools that fit seamlessly into clinic workflows and the role of electronic health record reminders. She also shares insights from more than a decade of dementia care, offering a practical "brain health plan" that physicians can implement immediately to support their older adult patients—starting with what they already do well.

Welcome to the Patient Care® Online Primary Viewpoints podcast. Tune in to hear leaders in primary care sound off on topics that impact your clinical practice. In this episode, we spoke with Heather Yun, MD, who served as IDWeek 2023 chair for the Infectious Disease Society of America, at the scientific sessions in Boston earlier this month about infectious disease surveillance in the US, the role of primary care clinicians in the effort to rein in antimicrobial resistance, what she thinks may have been the COVID-19 pandemic’s most important lesson for frontline clinicians, and more.  Thanks for listening to the Patient Care® Online Primary Viewpoints podcast. To support the show, be sure to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. For more primary care news and expert-driven content, visit patientcareonline.com. 

Welcome to the Patient Care Online® Primary Viewpoints podcast. Tune in to hear leaders in primary care sound off on topics that impact your clinical practice. In this episode, we spoke with Anila Chadha, MD, about the correlation between chronic pain and obesity, including the long-term effects of pain conditions for patients with obesity, common types of pain conditions associated with obesity, and how primary care clinicians should go about addressing pain with patients with obesity. Dr Chadha is a family physician and obesity medicine physician at Dignity Health Medical Group in Bakersfield, California. Thanks for listening to the Patient Care Online® Primary Viewpoints podcast. To support the show, be sure to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. For more primary care news and expert-driven content, visit patientcareonline.com. 

Welcome to the Patient Care Online® Primary Viewpoints podcast. Tune in to hear leaders in primary care sound off on topics that impact your clinical practice. In this episode, we spoke with William Schaffner, MD, a well-known infectious disease expert from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. He provides an update on the current 2022-2023 respiratory virus season and shared key messages to primary care clinicians as the season winds down. Looking for more infectious disease discussion? Check out the Patient Care Online® infectious disease clinical focus page. Thanks for listening to the Patient Care Online® Primary Viewpoints podcast. To support the show, be sure to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. For more primary care news and expert-driven content, visit patientcareonline.com

It is common for physicians to mask their emotional distress in front of colleagues and patients, making it crucial for clinicians to be on the lookout for signs of distress among their peers, according to Rebekah Bernard, MD, family physician and national speaker on physician wellness and practice management. On today’s episode of Primary Viewpoints, Dr Bernard shares common signs of emotional distress to be aware of, discusses how to start a dialogue about mental health with a colleague, and offers 3 suggestions for physicians on connecting with peers and caring for their own wellbeing. 

Wide variation in response to current treatments for obesity suggest that the disease is really several diseases, with distinct phenotypes unlikely to respond the same way to the same intervention. Andres Acosta, MD, PhD, whose widely recognized research focuses on precision medicine in management of obesity, sat down with Patient Care Online and details how weight management interventions targeted by phenotype more closely reflect the pathophysiology of the disease.