• Stephen Brunton, Jeremy J Pruzin, Susan Alford, Carol Hamersky, Anup Sabharwal, and Ganesh Gopalakrishna.
• Primary Care Education Consortium, Winnsboro, SC, USA.
• Postgrad Med. 2023 Jun 1; 135 (5): 530538530-538.

ObjectivesEarly diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia is crucial for effective disease management and optimizing patient outcomes. We sought to better understand the MCI and mild AD dementia medical journey from the perspective of patients, care partners, and physicians.MethodsWe conducted online surveys in the United States among patients/care partners and physicians in 2021.Results103 patients with all-cause MCI or mild AD dementia aged 46-90 years, 150 care partners for someone with all-cause MCI or mild AD dementia, and 301 physicians (101 of which were primary care physicians, [PCPs]) completed surveys. Most patient/care partners reported that experiencing forgetfulness (71%) and short-term memory loss (68%) occurred before talking to a healthcare professional. Most patients (73%) followed a common medical journey, in which the initial discussion with a PCP took place 15 months after symptom onset. However, only 33% and 39% were diagnosed and treated by a PCP, respectively. Most (74%) PCPs viewed themselves as coordinators of care for their patients with MCI and mild AD dementia. Over one-third (37%) of patients/care partners viewed PCPs as the care coordinator.ConclusionsPCPs play a vital role in the timely diagnosis and treatment of MCI and mild AD dementia but often are not considered the care coordinator. For the majority of patients, the initial discussion with a PCP took place 15 months after symptom onset; therefore, it is important to educate patients/care partners and PCPs on MCI and AD risk factors, early symptom recognition, and the need for early diagnosis and treatment. PCPs could improve patient care and outcomes by building their understanding of the need for early AD diagnosis and treatment and improving the efficiency of the patient medical journey by serving as coordinators of care.

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