An outpatient geriatric psychiatry assessment and treatment service

An outpatient evaluation and treatment program for cognitively impaired elderly and their families opened at the University of Washington in 1978. The multidisciplinary approach includes psychiatric, medical, psychological, social, and environmental assessments. The program has been well received by the public and has served as a model for similar programs elsewhere. An important finding from the clinic has been to demonstrate the high frequency of excess disability in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer's type.