Memory Clinics in Ontario: How to Get a Memory Assessment for a Parent

In Ontario, the way into a memory clinic is a referral from your parent's family doctor or nurse practitioner. Most families can start close to home: there are now more than 100 MINT Memory Clinics run by primary care teams, and hospitals and geriatric programs run memory clinics for more complex cases. Assessments are covered by OHIP.

The hardest part is rarely the clinic. It's the months before, when you notice your mum repeating a story or your dad missing bills, and nobody wants to say the word "dementia" out loud.

Here's what we tell families on that first call. You don't need to be sure before you ask for an assessment. Memory changes have many causes, and some of them are treatable. Getting a proper look sooner is almost always the kinder choice.

What is a memory clinic in Ontario?

A memory clinic is a team that assesses memory and thinking changes, makes a diagnosis, and stays involved as needs change. In Ontario you'll meet three kinds:

MINT stands for multispecialty interprofessional team. According to MINT Memory Clinic, each team can include family doctors, nurses, social workers and pharmacists, and works with your parent's own doctor, specialists and the Alzheimer Society. The model started in Kitchener-Waterloo and has grown to more than 100 clinics.

You can see some of them in our directory, like the memory clinics at OakMed Family Health Team in Oakville and Barrie and Community Family Health Team, and hospital memory programs at Toronto Western Hospital, Baycrest and Providence Care Hospital in Kingston.

Do you need a referral for a memory clinic in Ontario?

Yes, almost always. MINT Memory Clinic tells patients and caregivers to ask their family physician for a referral to their local clinic, and hospital memory clinics take referrals from doctors and nurse practitioners.

If your parent doesn't have a family doctor, register them with Health Care Connect, Ontario's service that finds a family doctor, nurse practitioner or primary care team accepting new patients. In the meantime, a walk-in doctor can start the conversation, though it's slower without someone who knows your parent.

Which memory clinic should you ask for?

For most families, our advice is simple: ask for the memory clinic closest to your parent's family doctor, which in many Ontario towns is a MINT clinic inside a family health team. The team knows the local services, shares notes with the doctor, and stays involved after the diagnosis.

Push for a hospital or specialist memory clinic instead when:

• symptoms started before 65;
• things are changing quickly, over weeks or a few months;
• there are other neurological signs, like tremor, falls or changes in walking;
• there's significant depression, hallucinations or personality change;
• the first assessment didn't give a clear answer.

The option we steer families away from is waiting to "see if it gets worse." By the time it's obvious, your parent has often lost the chance to take part in decisions about their own future.

What happens at a memory assessment?

There's no single test for dementia. As the Alzheimer Society of Canada explains, a doctor usually needs a number of physical and cognitive exams, and may refer to a memory clinic or specialist when the picture isn't clear.

Expect a longer appointment than a usual doctor's visit. The team will typically:

1. Talk with your parent, and with you, about what's changed and when.
2. Review medications and health history, because some causes of confusion are treatable.
3. Do a short memory and thinking test, often the MoCA (we explain the scores in our MoCA and MMSE guide).
4. Arrange tests your parent's doctor orders, like blood work.
5. Explain the result and the next steps, sometimes over a second visit.

Only a qualified health-care provider can make a diagnosis. An online quiz can't, and neither can you, however well you know your parent.

What should you bring to the appointment?

Bring the person who notices the changes, and write things down beforehand. Memory clinics rely on the family's account, and specifics help far more than "she's been forgetful."

• A list of examples with rough dates: missed bills, getting lost driving, repeating questions, a pot left on the stove.
• Every medication and supplement, in the bottles, or a printed list.
• Hearing aids and glasses. Poor hearing can lower a memory test score.
• Health card and any recent test results.
• Your own questions, written down.

Our free health passport puts medications, conditions and contacts on one page you can print.

How do you get a reluctant parent to go?

Don't lead with dementia. Most parents agree to "a check-up of everything" far more readily than "a memory test."

What works in the families we help: ask the family doctor to suggest it as part of a routine visit, frame it as ruling things out ("let's make sure it isn't your thyroid or your pills"), and go together. If your parent refuses outright, you can still call their doctor and share what you've seen. The doctor can't tell you much without consent, but they can listen.

What happens after a dementia diagnosis?

The diagnosis isn't the end of the memory clinic's job. A good team plans follow-up, adjusts medications, and connects you with support.

Call the Alzheimer Society's First Link program early (Ontario: 416-967-5900). It connects people living with dementia and their care partners to one-on-one and group support, local health and community services, and help planning ahead. Our guides to the stages of dementia, home care for dementia and when it's time for memory care cover what usually comes next.

If you'd like a hand working out the next step, our advisors can talk it through with you, free and with no pressure.