NEWS

Guiding the Care Journey: Building Dementia Workforce and System Capacity through Care Navigation

Mar 22, 2023

A recent report from the Milken Institute covers the challenges that the US health-care system is facing as it prepares to meet the growing demand for care among individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).

It suggests that implementing care navigation can help overcome these barriers by providing vital linkages between health and social care services and individuals living with dementia and their caregivers.

In the report, readers will find a framework for health systems, community-based organizations, and Medicare payers to implement care-navigation services, with recommendations to improve provider training for ADRD and expand the dementia-capable workforce; elevate the role of care navigators on interprofessional dementia-care teams, leverage innovative digital tools, and improve payment for care navigation in traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

The report makes six recommendations, centered around two overarching themes to improve dementia-care navigation.