Support & resources for referring providers
Tomorrow can’t wait: timely detection is critical for your patients with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease (AD)1
Detect1,2
Consistently screen for evidence of MCI.
- Integrate a routine cognitive workup into your practice using sensitive tools (eg, Mini-Cog©, GPCOG, MoCA, SLUMS).
Assess2,3
Evaluate the potential cause of cognitive impairment.
- Help rule out non-AD causes of MCI with routine labs (eg, CBC, metabolic panel, LFTs, TSH, vitamin B12, folate) and imaging (eg, CT, MRI).
- Consider blood-based biomarker testing for patients with cognitive impairment who meet the testing criteria, following initial evaluations, to aid in making a diagnosis or referral decision.
Refer1,2
Quickly refer patients who are showing signs of cognitive impairment and evidence of AD pathology to an AD specialist.
- Early specialist referral allows for timely diagnosis and disease management, which may include treatment with amyloid-targeting therapies (ATTs) for appropriate patients in the early symptomatic stages of AD.
Commercially available blood-based biomarker tests used to detect amyloid positivity are not standalone tests. The results must be interpreted in conjunction with clinical assessment results. Patients must meet testing criteria.
Did you know?
The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit requires a patient evaluation to assess cognitive impairment, and the AAN guidelines recommend using a brief, validated cognitive assessment tool and obtaining a cognitive history from the patient and informant to identify any concerns.4
If your patient shows signs of cognitive impairment during a routine visit, Medicare covers a separate visit (coded under CPT 99483) to more thoroughly assess your patient’s cognitive function and develop a care plan.5
Locate a specialist
Assistance is available through independent providers to help you find:
- Local in-person healthcare providers experienced in advanced diagnostics for AD
- Specialists in early symptomatic AD diagnosis, treatment, and management
Find a Specialist
Visit SiteAccess telehealth services*
Independent virtual care is available to:
- Connect patients with a neurologist within 14 days
- Introduce patients to their dedicated navigator within 2 days, who will help them navigate their diagnosis and treatment journey
- Provide patients access to high-quality, comprehensive virtual care
- Help shorten the time to patient evaluation and care plan activation
- Most major insurance plans accepted, including Medicare and Medicaid
Explore Telehealth Options
Visit Site*The telehealth service includes independent providers who exercise their own clinical judgment. The providers have demonstrated that they satisfy certain objective criteria for meeting patient needs, which may or may not include medication or Lilly products. Lilly does not receive compensation for referrals, and the telehealth providers are not incentivized to promote or prescribe Lilly products.
Helpful links for diagnosing AD
NIH blood testing
Visit SiteThe Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease diagnostic hub
Visit SiteAAN=American Academy of Neurology; CBC=complete blood count; CT=computed tomography; GPCOG=General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition; LFTs=liver function tests; MoCA=Montreal Cognitive Assessment; MRI=magnetic resonance imaging; SLUMS=Saint Louis University Mental Status; TSH=thyroid stimulating hormone.
References:
- Porsteinsson AP, Isaacson RS, Knox S, et al. Diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s disease: clinical practice in 2021. J Prev Alzheimers Dis. 2021;8:371-386. doi:10.14283/jpad.2021.23
- Sabbagh MN, Lue LF, Fayard D, et al. Increasing precision of clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease using a combined algorithm incorporating clinical and novel biomarker data. Neurol Ther. 2017;6(suppl 1):S83-S95. doi:10.14283/jpad.2021.23
- McDade E, Bednar MM, Brashear HR, et al. The pathway to secondary prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2020;6(1):e12069. doi:10.1002/trc2.12069
- Petersen RC, Lopez O, Armstrong MJ, et al. Practice guideline update summary: mild cognitive impairment: report of the Guideline Development, Dissemination, and Implementation Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology. 2018;90(3):126-135. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000004826
- Medicare.gov. Yearly “wellness” visits. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/yearly-wellness-visits