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Home
About DAC-SP
Early Detection Blueprint
Case Studies
Grant Recipients
Resource Index
US Fellowship RFI
Contact
USA - APPA/Cleveland Clinic
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. While there is no cure, early detection is crucial as therapeutic interventions for those in mid-life with early AD could reduce AD in late life by 40%. However, due to the shortage of specialists to meet the growing need, primary care becomes essential for overseeing patients’ health and detecting cognitive issues during Medicare wellness exams. To increase rates of cognitive screenings of older adults, The American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), the Physician Associate Foundation (PA Foundation), and the Cleveland Clinic partnered to equip non-specialist providers with the education needed to screen and assess cognitive abilities.
The project involved developing a Cognitive Assessment Toolkit that was piloted to understand how non-specialist providers used it. The pilot implementation was conducted at Cleveland Clinic locations and rural outpatient clinic sites identified by AAPA. The project also assessed the short-term clinical impact of the Toolkit training and refined the program elements prior to public launch in late 2023.
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Joanna Weston, MPH
PA Foundation, Program Manager
Saket Saxena, MD
Cleveland Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics
Nathan Hart, PA-C
Cleveland Clinic, Director of Advanced Practice Providers (APP)
USA - APPA/Cleveland Clinic
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. While there is no cure, early detection is crucial as therapeutic interventions for those in mid-life with early AD could reduce AD in late life by 40%. However, due to the shortage of specialists to meet the growing need, primary care becomes essential for overseeing patients’ health and detecting cognitive issues during Medicare wellness exams. To increase rates of cognitive screenings of older adults, The American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), the Physician Associate Foundation (PA Foundation), and the Cleveland Clinic partnered to equip non-specialist providers with the education needed to screen and assess cognitive abilities.
The project involved developing a Cognitive Assessment Toolkit that was piloted to understand how non-specialist providers used it. The pilot implementation was conducted at Cleveland Clinic locations and rural outpatient clinic sites identified by AAPA. The project also assessed the short-term clinical impact of the Toolkit training and refined the program elements prior to public launch in late 2023.
There was a significant rise in the percentage of patients aged 65 or older offered screening, increasing from 30.4% at baseline to 38.6% post-program. Satisfaction among participating providers was high, with at least 82.4% reporting they were "very to extremely satisfied". Additionally, 93.5% expressed they would recommend each Toolkit module to colleagues. About four out of five learners planned to implement changes in their practice, accompanied by a marked improvement in providers' confidence levels.
JW
Joanna Weston, MPH
PA Foundation, Program Manager
SS
Saket Saxena, MD
Cleveland Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics
NH
Nathan Hart, PA-C
Cleveland Clinic, Director of Advanced Practice Providers (APP)
