French Congress of Psychiatry

Presentation byMatthias BRUNN of a poster at the French Congress of Psychiatry, Nice, December 4–7, 2019.
Title of the poster presented: Psychiatrists and neurologists in the management of dementia: a systematic review of concepts, practice, and professional perspectives.
Dementia is one of the main areas of interaction between psychiatrists and neurologists. Although interdisciplinary care is recommended by professional societies and public agencies, experience shows that this is not the case in many healthcare facilities. To shed light on this paradox, the authors conducted a systematic review of the literature in PubMed to identify scientific publications that examined how psychiatrists and neurologists interact in the care of people with dementia.
The literature search identified 131 documents, of which 17 were selected for full-text analysis, published between 1993 and 2017. The identified themes were grouped into the following categories: professionalism and nosography, specific diseases and technologies, referral practices, specialized facilities, and training. In conclusion, psychiatrists and neurologists currently follow two paths of self-regulation regarding their respective roles in dementia care: either by choosing to interact with one another while adhering to disciplinary boundaries, or by resorting to subspecialization. There is little research on healthcare service models linking psychiatry and neurology in the field of dementia. Addressing this could also inform other areas relevant to both disciplines.