Brain health navigation in a large integrated healthcare system

Alzheimer's Disease is a complex, chronic illness of increasing prevalence in the US and worldwide. The complexity of this illness, and its impact on caregivers make it an ideal candidate for navigation services. The development of billable navigation codes now make it possible to create a financially sustainable navigation program. We describe our initial experience with a brain health navigator program, partnering between primary and specialty memory care, in a large integrated healthcare system. While a number of challenges exist, and careful planning was required, we have successfully implemented a navigation program, enrolling greater than 100 patients in the initial 6 months. Patient and caregiver feedback has been highly positive. We have experienced no significant barriers to reimbursement and when accounting for incremental downstream revenue generation (e.g. MRI, labs), we are forecasting long-term financial sustainability and the opportunity for continued scaling over time.