Alzheimer’s Services for Providers

With the growing number of patients with cognitive disorders, South Carolina will never have enough specialists to provide medical care. As wait times have increased to close to a year, a new model of providing care is necessary.

The South Carolina Alzheimer's Network is designed to remedy this problem. Through a combination of an eConsult system and Memory Treatment Clinics, we can help provide cognitive expertise to primary care and other providers throughout the state of South Carolina.

eConsults

Not every patient with Alzheimer's disease, dementia or other cognitive disorders needs to be seen by a neurologist. Many patients can continue to receive care locally by their primary care provider or other clinician. On the other hand, if a patient has an atypical cognitive disorder or if they are a potential candidate for the new anti-amyloid medications for Alzheimer's disease, they may benefit from seeing a specialist in our Memory Treatment Centers. Through our eConsult system, we can give advice on how to care for your patient and determine if they need to be seen in our clinics.

Potential reasons for an eConsult include:

• Diagnosis of signs/symptoms of cognitive impairment 
• Evaluation for anti-amyloid medications for Alzheimer's disease 
• Management of abnormal behaviors or medication management 
• Patient education or resource recommendations 
• Other

eConsults are the front door to the South Carolina Alzheimer's Network and primary referral method. Learn how to place an eConsult.

Memory Treatment Clinics

If upon reviewing the eConsult, it is determined that a patient should be evaluated by the South Carolina Alzheimer's Network team, the patient will be scheduled in one of our Memory Treatment Clinics. Our first clinic is the Henry and Mollie Fair Memory Disorders clinic in Downtown Charleston. We also offer a telemedicine memory treatment clinic to help serve patients throughout the state. In the future we plan to offer additional clinics within the MUSC Regional Health Network.

When a patient is evaluated at a South Carolina Alzheimer's Network Memory Treatment clinic, they will have two visits. The first is an evaluation visit where they will meet with an advanced practice provider and a dementia care navigator, and receive neuropsychological testing. Patients should expect this to be a three to four hour visit. Patients will then be scheduled for a results visit after any additional testing is completed. At the results visit, patients and their family will meet with a physician, advanced practice provider, and a dementia care navigator. Patients and their family will receive a care plan with detailed information on their diagnosis and treatment options. The majority of patients will then return to their referring provider for ongoing care, but more complicated patients may continue to be followed in South Carolina Alzheimer's Network clinics.

Anti-Amyloid Medications

We are prescribing anti-amyloid medications for Alzheimer’s disease at MUSC including donanemab (Kisunla) and lecanemab (Leqembi). These medications work best in the earliest stages of the disease. If you are trying to get your patient in quickly for these medications, the best way is to place an eConsult to the South Carolina Alzheimer's Network. We can then help determine if a patient is appropriate for these medications to either be prescribed by the South Carolina Alzheimer's Network or closer to home if possible.