Nathaniel Chin, MD, and Claire M. Erickson, PhD, MPA, co-wrote a guest essay recently featured in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) asserting that primary care currently lacks the training and resources for biomarker testing and that more support is needed through infrastructural changes that will enable the implementation of multidisciplinary care models.
“Though insurers generally will not cover blood tests for Alzheimer’s biomarkers, which currently lack Food and Drug Administration approval, these obstacles may soon be removed. But the U.S. health care system remains ill equipped to navigate discussions about the test results and treatments, lacking the time, staff, and expertise for adequately explaining results and answering patients’ questions,” noted Chin and Erickson.
“Alzheimer’s Disease, Biomarkers, and mAbs — What Does Primary Care Need?” was published on June 22, 2024, at NEJM.org.
