The data presented in this paper provide strong evidence that doctors need to be aware of a patient's memory difficulties as soon as possible. A patient's memory is critical for two essential medical components: history taking and treatment recommendation. What could be more essential for a doctor to know than the state of a patient's memory? Yet, without some objective measure, this critical piece of information is really unknown. We believe that these data and new perspectives about facing the burgeoning population of elderly individuals make screening for memory difficulties essential for individuals over 65 years of age coming into a doctor's office. Adequate screens can be done in less than three minutes and can be done by a doctor's staff.

View all comments by John (Wes) Ashford