Empowering Primary Care: Early Alzheimer's Detection and the Referral Pathway Challenge

In 'Empowering Primary Care: Early Alzheimer's Detection and the Referral Pathway Challenge,' the expert neurology and primary care panelists examined the following critical questions:

How are you enhancing early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in your practice setting?

The 2026 Facts and Figures data show that a significant number of primary care physicians (PCPs) do not feel comfortable diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD) and also report a shortage of specialists in their area. What does that mean for the pipeline of patients who should be reaching disease-modifying therapy?

A large number of adults aged 65+ live in areas with potential dementia specialist shortages. What structural changes are most needed to close this gap?

Led by the moderator, the panelists discussed how their practices use structured screening tools, electronic health record order sets, and attention to subtle behavioral symptoms to catch Alzheimer's disease earlier, and how targeted continuing medical education, a "see one, do one, teach one" mentoring approach, and e-consult safety nets are building primary care physicians' confidence to diagnose despite a shrinking pool of behavioral neurologists and geriatricians.

Throughout the conversation, the experts provided a comprehensive reflection on the field and the factors that may shape how clinicians approach care moving forward.

Our next episode, 'Expanding Access to Anti-Amyloid Therapy: The Case for Primary Care Prescribing,' further explores Alzheimer's disease, highlighting the challenges of practicing in rural, specialist-scarce areas and the debate over primary care's expanding role in prescribing anti-amyloid therapies through team-based care.