Dementia reclassified as a terminal illness

A number of American doctors have reclassified dementia as a terminal illness in an attempt to ensure a better standard of palliative care for patients that are in the final stages of the disease. In an interview with Time magazine, Dr Greg Sachs of the Indiana Center for Ageing Research explained that he has chosen to redefine the disease as terminal to combat the widespread assumption that people do not die from dementia. Rather than viewing dementia as a mental health condition that often accompanies the ageing process, Dr Sachs urges medical professionals to treat it as a terminal illness that will eventually kill the patient. He hopes that by understanding the disease properly, healthcare staff and carers will offer more appropriate end of life care and support to the patient and their relatives. Read the article in full at the Time magazine website.