Alzheimer’s Association Brain Health & Quality Care Initiative

Bringing advances in brain health and dementia care into everyday clinical practice

Brain Health & Quality Care Initiative

Brain Health Quality Care Initiative logo The Alzheimer's Association Brain Health & Quality Care Initiative (BHQCI) is the Association's national program to help clinicians and health systems integrate brain health, early detection of cognitive impairment and high-quality dementia care into routine clinical practice, beginning in primary care. BHQCI is an initiative of the Alzheimer's Association Brain Health Advancement Institute™.

Science has moved faster than care delivery

Rapid advances in dementia research have produced blood-based diagnostic testing and disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease. But advances like these only reach people if their health system is ready to use them, and today that path breaks down at nearly every step. Cognitive screening isn't routine, referral pathways are unclear and slow, and families wait too long for an accurate diagnosis.

BHQCI is built around the full care continuum, with a clear standard for each stage:

Risk reduction is part of routine care.
Cognitive assessment follows a defined process.
Diagnosis is timely, accurate and clearly communicated.
Referral and treatment run through clear pathways to specialty care and therapy.
Ongoing support connects families to care and resources.

How the BHQCI closes gaps across the dementia care continuum

Makes early action routine

BHQCI is setting the standard, starting in primary care. When quality dementia care becomes the norm, families get earlier answers, spend less time waiting, and have a clearer path to care and support after a diagnosis.

Equips care teams

BHQCI is building a blueprint for the standard for quality cognitive care. It gives clinicians the training, technology and workflows to put it into practice, with tools that fit the way they already work.

Meets systems as they are

BHQCI will provide evidence-based guidance, implementation resources, professional education and peer-to-peer learning opportunities to help health systems put these approaches into practice — wherever their starting point is.

Recognizes quality care

BHQCI will build a national recognition program for health systems that meet or exceed the standard. Families get a way to find quality brain health care, and systems get a public goal to work toward.

BHQCI is made possible by our Founding Partners

Transformation on this scale takes shared investment. The Alzheimer’s Association and our participating systems are grateful to the organizations that are helping build the national infrastructure that this work requires.

Interested in supporting our work?

Please contact BHQCI@alz.org for more information.