Memory Clinics: They Should Be More Than NICE – We Need to Re-focus Our Efforts on Improving Existing Diagnostic Pathways Irrespective of NICE Drug Approval Decisions

Whilst there have been significant advances in drugs being developed for treatment approaches to dementia, cost effectiveness has limited its availability for their regular use in the NHS. This leads to a seeming disparity between modern technological advances and its applicability in regular clinical use within memory clinics and services. Here, we caution against developing a reticent or a fatalistic approach, urging clinicians, managers and commissioners to redouble efforts in refining and redeveloping existing pathways and be in a state of readiness for when such opportunities do become available.