Can a regular doctor manage depression medication?

Thanks everyone! Her neurologist and memory care physicians determined she has Alzheimer’s. Her pcp sent her to a psych for depression and he was absolutely awful. Clearly, he didn’t read her chart beforehand and argued with me. Ugh.

Anyway, I left a message with a geriatric psych who is now taking new patients, but I do wish we could stay with just her pcp. Did the pcp maybe not feel qualified to treat her in this area, maybe? Her pcp suggested that the geriatric doc would handle some things, but not all areas of her care. I could ask again to see.

thanks, again!

Who determined she had dementia? If it was her PCP, they are only trained to perform a rudimentary evaluation. If her PCP suspected dementia, she should have been referred to a neurologist or neuropsychologist. They can perform additional test to determine the cause of the dementia or even if she has dementia. A psychiatrist would only come into the picture if it was determined she had more of a pseudo-dementia which could be addressed by CBT or some other kind of cognitive treatment.

A gerontologist can be a one stop doctor for any evaluation or treatment she might need. Other than that her PCP can address her depression.

My mother's regular PCP manages all of her medications, including Wellbutrin for depression.

A geriatrician can prescribe and manage your mom's depression medications. Also a neurologist can do the same, along with her primary care Dr. Just make sure that they are aware of any other medications your mom is on.

Can you select another psychiatrist?

Selecting a doctor will depend on her overall health.

My mom’s primary care doctor would not prescribe meds because of her Parkinson’s disease. She did not want any of the meds to interact with each other.

Some people need specialists for their needs.