Two out of three UK GPs want more supportive tech for dementia patients

More than two-thirds (67%) of GPs in the United Kingdom would like to be able to prescribe assistive technology to their dementia patients, according to new research.

The Longevity.Technology poll found family doctors were especially keen to see more tech designed to help patients to maintain their independence.

Nearly nine in 10 (88%) GPs think people with dementia who can stay in their own homes will live more fulfilling lives, with over three quarters (77%) saying it will help them to live longer.

Dame Louise Robinson, GP and professor of primary care and ageing at Newcastle University, said GPs are increasingly ‘prescribing’ non-drug interventions to people with long term conditions.

“Technology, especially if it is used as part of a package of person-centred support, can help people with dementia live at home longer which is the ultimate goal,” she added.

However, existing technologies designed for people with dementia mostly focus on monitoring a person living with the condition rather than supporting them to help them maintain independence for longer.

This was a concern shared by 86% of the GPs surveyed.

The Longitude Prize on Dementia, which is funded by Alzheimer’s Society and Innovate UK, and delivered by Challenge Works, conducted the nationally representative poll of GPs.

Kate Lee, CEO of Alzheimer’s Society, said: “It’s encouraging that many GPs join us in seeing the huge potential that tech could bring for the 900,000 people in the UK living with dementia.

“Dementia is a progressive condition set to affect one in three people born today, so we must think more broadly about how to end the devastation it causes, by helping people manage their symptoms and stay independent for longer.

“It’s exciting that soon we may have potential new treatments that could slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease, but alongside this we need to urgently push forward ways of helping people with dementia right now.

“We believe tech involving people with dementia, for people with dementia, can be a key way of doing this.”

Assistive technologies

Remaining at home can present challenges for people with dementia.

Issues include loss of confidence or developing anxiety when navigating their local area, remembering to take medication or struggling to recognise people.

In the poll, 76% of GPs surveyed said they worry that their patients may become trapped in their own homes because of anxiety and fear about getting lost.

Many of the GPs polled believe their patients would benefit from responsive tech such as an intuitive app to help them navigate their community, tech that reminds people to take medications, or smart glasses that could tell them who they are looking at.

George MacGinnis, healthy ageing challenge director of Innovate UK, explained that the UK has an ageing population with more than 11 million people over 65, which comes with more people living with dementia.

“Assistive technologies that can deploy artificial intelligence to adapt to the changing needs of people living with dementia could offer affordable solutions that help people remain independent in their own homes for many more years than at present,” he said.

Existing technology

Challenging the outdated stereotype that older people are tech-averse, half (49%) of GPs say that the majority of their early-stage dementia patients use technology in their everyday lives.

Many GPs are already advising their dementia patients to use existing technology to manage their conditions, with 64% of family doctors recommending tech-related hacks.

These could include adding simple reminders to take medications on phones and smart speakers.

Of those surveyed, 69% say their patients with dementia are increasingly relying on technology as a memory tool, such as storing relationship details in their phone contacts.

The findings also highlight the need for innovators to consider the progressive nature of dementia in the design of new assistive technologies to adapt to the person’s changing condition.

The Longitude Prize on Dementia is a £4.42 million ($5.12 million) prize to drive the creation of personalised, technology-based tools that are co-created with people in early stages of dementia.

In total, £3.42 million will be awarded in seed funding and development grants to the most promising solutions, with a £1 million first prize to be awarded in 2026.

In June 2023, it announced 24 semi-finalists developing new assistive technologies for people living with dementia, each receiving grants of £80,000.

Between now and next summer, tech creators will work with people living with dementia and their carers to refine their solutions before the five most promising ideas progress to the final stages of the competition.