Walsh Liam, Chacko Emme, Cheung Gary
Senior House Officer, Auckland District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand.
Consultant Psychiatrist, Mental Health Services for Older People, Auckland District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand; Honorary Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Australas Psychiatry. 2019 Oct;27(5):480-485. doi: 10.1177/1039856219848828. Epub 2019 May 14.
To review literature and guidelines related to the process of determining driving safety in people with dementia.
Four electronic databases were searched in December 2016/January 2017. We limited our search to literature and guidelines published in the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
General practitioners are primarily responsible for driver licensing; however, they often feel ill-equipped and it can compromise the therapeutic relationship. Occupational therapist driving assessment is considered as the 'gold-standard' but is costly and often not available. Medical advisory boards assist the assessment process by providing independent licencing decisions.
General practitioner training, funding for occupational therapist driving assessment and the establishment of a medical advisory board could be considered to improve the current practice of driving assessment in dementia.
