RESUMO
The care of a patient with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is considered from the perspective of an ecosystem, that is, a systemic approach describing effective partnership, collaboration and research aimed at creating value, involving all participants in the AD patient journey. The effectiveness of this ecosystem is only possible with the involvement of all stakeholders in its development, including patients, healthcare professionals at all levels, government agencies, private companies, and patient organizations. The unmet health care and information needs of patients with AD are a consequence of barriers in the AD ecosystem. Key barriers for the patient include low awareness and stigmatization of the disease in society, lack of quality epidemiological data, difficulties in timely diagnosis, lack of prevention programs, unpreparedness of most physicians to conduct AD patient rehabilitation, and other factors. Based on the analysis of the ecosystem of AD and the patient pathway, 10 main directions (strategies) necessary for the formation of the ecosystem were identified: conducting research in the diagnosis and epidemiology of AD, creating and implementing a cognitive health program, forming a legal framework, raising public awareness, optimizing patient routing for timely diagnosis, organizing a network of memory clinics/laboratories, creating a register of patients with dementia, developing digital solutions and supporting social projects.
