Driving and cognitive decline: a need for collaboration.

As a family physician, I often encounter patients with mild cognitive decline in my practice. The prevalence of dementia in those older than 65 years of age is 8%, meaning that an average family physician’s practice has approximately 30 to 40 elderly patients with dementia.1 As a primary care physician, it is often challenging to diagnose these patients in the early stages, as well as to ensure that the multitude of issues for both the patient and the family are addressed. A patient with a new diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) prompted me to review the issues of cognitive decline and driving status.