Leading Clinicians Issue Recommendations for Modernizing Alzheimer's Diagnosis and Care

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, clinicians from top medical institutions announced the launch of the Alzheimer's Policy Working Group, a voluntary, interdisciplinary organization composed of frontline medical leaders in specialty and primary care who are advancing practical reforms to improve early diagnosis and care for Alzheimer's patients.

In its inaugural report, the working group outlines timely, actionable recommendations that will empower primary care providers to strengthen Alzheimer's diagnosis and management through better training, updated billing codes, and use of new technologies like digital cognitive assessments and blood-based biomarker tests. These insights are based on members' experience caring for patients, building interdisciplinary teams, and developing new care models that are generating results across the country.

Primary care providers in the University of Kansas Health System are using blood-based biomarker tests and structured workflows to increase diagnostic capacity by 60%. A practical package of tools and training developed by a team of primary care providers and dementia experts at the University of Washington doubled early dementia diagnoses across 14 community clinics. And Indiana University's "brain health navigator" model, led by specially trained nurses, has nearly quadrupled the detection of mild cognitive impairment by helping patients move efficiently from testing to care.

The working group includes neurologists, geriatricians, and primary care clinicians from these and other leading institutions, including the University of California San Francisco, MedStar Georgetown University Medical Center, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and University of Alabama Birmingham Medicine.

The working group formed in response to a persistent gap in Alzheimer's care: millions of Americans go undiagnosed or wait more than a year to see a specialist, which leaves patients and families without answers while symptoms worsen and limits options for care. Members argue that the healthcare system should be streamlined and modernized to emphasize prevention, early detection, and manageable pathways in primary care.

Members include:

• Jeff Burns, MD, MS, University of Kansas Medical Center
• Gregory E. Cooper, MD, PhD, MBA, Norton Neuroscience Institute
• Barak Gaster, MD, University of Washington Medical Center
• David Geldmacher, MD, University of Alabama Birmingham
• Cara Leahy, DO, Memorial Healthcare Institute for Neuroscience
• Patrick McGill, MD, Community Health Network
• Michelle M. Mielke, PhD, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
• Wilson D. Pace, MD, DARTNet Institute
• Ramon G. Reyes, MD, Primary Care Medicine
• Raymond Scott Turner, MD, PhD, MedStar Georgetown University Medical Center
• Lawren VandeVrede, MD, PhD, University of California San Francisco
• Jeff D. Williamson, MD, MHS, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
• Deanna R. Willis, MD, Indiana University School of Medicine
• Jennifer L. Woodward, MD, MPH, University of Kansas Health System

About the Alzheimer's Policy Working Group
The Alzheimer's Policy Working Group is a 501(c)(3) organization that unites frontline clinicians from specialty and primary care to craft practical solutions that improve life for patients and families. Participation is voluntary. The views expressed are those of the members and do not necessarily represent the endorsement of affiliated institutions.

For more information visit www.alzpolicy.org.

SOURCE Alzheimer's Policy Working Group