ABSTRACT
Relying solely on patients’ self-reports of daily functioning decreases the diagnostic accuracy of cognitive disorders. Clinicians should invite a caregiver or loved one to join the encounter to enhance detection of functional impairments due to cognition or other illnesses. The technique of subtly detecting additional history through caregivers’ nonverbal cues is introduced. This technique provides valuable information while avoiding potential conflict that may disrupt the clinician-patient relationship or the patient’s relationship with the informants. The importance of incorporating this collateral data and approaches to obviating conflict in these sensitive discussions are discussed.
