If you have been told by your primary care doctor that you or your loved one has Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the next step is to find a doctor who specializes in AD treatments and care. Some people prefer to continue seeing their family doctors because they believe AD is a hopeless diagnosis. Others seek a second opinion with a specialist and then go back to their primary care or family doctor.

Most dementia experts believe it’s important to see a specialist to confirm the diagnosis. As Dr. Neill Graff-Radford, a professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic, suggests, “Each patient should have one thorough evaluation at an Alzheimer’s center. Experienced doctors are more accurate from a clinical and pathological point of view. A default diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease may be made by doctors less familiar with other diseases.”

There is no one specific kind of specialist best qualified to assess and treat Alzheimer’s disease. Most experts agree, however, that seeing an Alzheimer’s disease specialist, such as a neurologist, a geriatric psychiatrist, a geriatrician, a psychologist, or a medical practice that specializes in memory disorders, will ensure the best quality of treatments and up-to-date knowledge on the latest Alzheimer’s disease drugs and research. In any case, you want a top doctor, one that you can trust as a partner during this difficult journey.

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