Enormous attention is being given to controversial drugs aimed at slowing the progression of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Yet, a very different set of clinical innovations holds the promise of helping far more people living with dementia and their families in more immediate—and perhaps more effective—ways.

These care delivery models are aimed at breaking down the often-impenetrable barriers between health care and social supports. Their goals: Improve the quality of life for people living with dementia and support their family caregivers by coordinating today’s highly fragmented system of care.

While many of these models show great promise, they have been slow to take hold. Among the challenges: A payment system that is poorly designed to support them. Medicare, for example, generally will not pay for non-medical services such as caregiver training.

In 2019, the Milken Institute identified a half-dozen coordinated care delivery programs for people living with dementia. Each is somewhat different but all show the promise of improving the lives of those living with dementia and their families and lowering health care costs. Interestingly, nearly all are built around care teams led by nurses and non-clinical patient navigators, not physicians. Here are a few examples:

Care Ecosystem, developed by the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) is funded with grants from the National Institute of Aging and operates demonstrations in California, Louisiana, and four states in the Midwest.

It is a phone and web-based support program, where the main point of contact is a care navigator who answers most routine questions. A nurse, social worker, and pharmacist respond to more technical questions. The navigator routinely checks in with families but also responds to calls or online requests for support.

Read the full article about dementia care by Howard Gleckman at Forbes.