Hospital and Physician Update

November – December 2018

A message from Dr. S. George Kipa
We need to work together to confront the growing problem of Alzheimer’s disease

When President Ronald Reagan designated November as National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month in 1983, fewer than 2 million Americans had Alzheimer’s. Today, the number has soared to an estimated 5.7 million, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Underscoring the importance of reversing this troubling trend, two months have been set aside to bring awareness to the disease. In addition to November, June is designated as Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, and June 21 is designated as the Longest Day, in honor of those who care for someone with Alzheimer’s.

Throughout this year, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has shined the spotlight on the disease by partnering with leading Alzheimer’s associations and sponsoring various employee and community activities. I’ll talk more about those efforts later in this column, but first I’d like to provide a brief overview of the disease and what can be done to treat it.

Alzheimer’s is a specific diagnosis of a type of dementia, accounting for about two-thirds of diagnosed dementia cases. Worldwide there are probably more than 30 million people suffering from Alzheimer’s. For more facts and figures, see the story at right.

When a patient goes to see a clinician with complaints of memory loss or other symptoms suggesting dementia, the practitioner typically takes a patient history, does a and physical exam and orders tests to rule out other causes for the symptoms as part of efforts to establish a diagnosis. There are numerous issues with Alzheimer’s that make it difficult to deal with.

First, it’s difficult to diagnose with certainty. The only way to definitively prove a patient has it is to look at brain tissue, using special stains, under a microscope, which is usually done after the patient dies.

Second, there’s a great deal of variability in the progress of Alzheimer’s and the prognosis for different patients who have the disease.

Third, there’s no known treatment to cure the disease or to slow its progression, although there are treatments that may help with symptoms. There are also recommended best practices to enhance patient safety and decrease comorbidities.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s Value Partnerships program, including our Patient-Centered Medical Home Program and Provider-Delivered Care Management, emphasizes the importance of care coordination and helping identify patients early on who may be at risk for dementia and ensuring they get the care they need.

In a MI Blues Perspectives blog earlier this year about Blue Cross’ 2018 Alzheimer’s campaign, we reminded Michigan residents to take care of their brain health by exercising regularly, getting adequate sleep, avoiding smoking and maintaining a nutritious diet to help lower their risk.* We also alerted them to the warning signs* that may indicate the presence of the disease. These resources may be useful for sharing with your patients who may be concerned about the disease.

As part of our campaign, we encouraged employees to participate in a walk to raise money to fight Alzheimer’s at five locations across the state during August and September. Results are just in and show that Blue Cross has contributed more than $100,000 this year through corporate support and employee fundraising. Most recently, Blue Cross President and CEO Daniel J. Loepp chaired the Alzheimer’s Association Chocolate Jubilee on Oct. 27. It historically raises more than $1 million in one evening to assist the cause.

We’re hoping that efforts like these can help researchers develop therapies targeting specific genetic, molecular and cellular mechanisms so that the root cause of the disease can be eradicated. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported an Alzheimer’s patient or contributed to the cause.

While Alzheimer’s disease is currently ranked as the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., recent estimates indicate that the disorder may soon rank third, just behind heart disease and cancer, as a cause of death for older people, according to the National Institute on Aging. The group’s Alzheimer’s Disease fact sheet is another great resource* that provides a wealth of information on topics such as signs and symptoms, stages of the disease, causes, diagnosis, treatment and support for families and caregivers.

S. George Kipa, M.D., is Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s deputy chief medical officer.

*Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan doesn’t own or control this website.

No portion of this publication may be copied without the express written permission of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, except that BCBSM participating health care providers may make copies for their personal use. In no event may any portion of this publication be copied or reprinted and used for commercial purposes by any party other than BCBSM.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.