Dear Editor,
The news from the recent 2024 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference is amazing, with an announcement about a blood test that is 90% accurate in diagnosing Alzheimer’s and an already-FDA-approved drug that slows cognitive decline. Yet primary care physicians, often the first clinicians to hear an individual’s concerns about cognitive loss, feel unprepared to treat and manage this terrible disease. Two-thirds of physicians in a recent study said they learned little or nothing about dementia care while in medical school.
My father passed away with Alzheimer’s disease and I believe that there is a strong need for doctors to be more educated about it. Although my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s twenty-two years before his passing, symptoms were not evident until the last five years. His physical health did not begin to deteriorate until a year before his passing. Witnessing the strongest man I ever knew lose the ability to care for himself due to an incurable disease is a memory that will be with me forever. I can only hope that reading about my experience will urge more healthcare professionals to become educated about this disease.
The bipartisan Accelerating Access to Dementia & Alzheimer’s Provider Training (AADAPT) Act, currently pending in Congress, would address this situation by providing virtual training for primary care physicians on detection, diagnosis, and treatment of dementia. The legislation would authorize funding for physicians to get training at no charge through Project Echo, an existing and tested model. This will be especially welcome for physicians in rural and underserved areas, for whom getting extra training poses many challenges.
Thankfully, Congressman Nick LaLota can play an important role in accelerating dementia workforce preparedness by supporting this bill. Please join me in calling on him to cosponsor the AADAPT Act today!
Best regards,
Victoria Lacerda
Alzheimer’s Advocate
Ridge
