Legal Question in Health Care Law in Iowa

Regarding a PRE-DEMENTIA state:

IS THERE A LEGALLY DEFINED DIAGNOSIS OF A PRE-DEMENTIA STATE?

There is a state/stage of cognitive decline which can be delineated

that may or may not develop into dementia.

The descriptive set of cognitive issues has been called many things like:

benign senescent forgetfulness

age-associated memory impairment, AAMI

age associated cognitive decline, AACD

cognitive impairment, no dementia, CIND

mild cognitive impairment, MCI

Many different names, but I want to know if there is an established LEGAL diagnosis with an associated disease classification number that can be used in court or for insurance purposes?

Searched many medical sites and it seems that

the medical profession is using these diagnoses(Ex. Mild Cognitive Impairment) but that they may not be legal diagnostic terms. It is very wrong for randomness to be applied to a medical diagnosis no matter what the intentions. It must be an established legal diagnosis in a legally accepted medical classification protocol like the DSM ot ICD-10. Is there any legal pre-dementia diagnosis or is it a diagnosis by some 'committee' criteria( and does this have legal force?) or is it just the way things are being done?


Asked on 7/08/12, 4:37 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Luedeman solo practitioner

Elder law is not an area in which I practice.

Read more
Answered on 7/09/12, 2:58 pm


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