By 2050, the U.S. Alzheimer's Population Will Double. We're Not Prepared.

An Alzheimer's Association study warns that the U.S. healthcare system is woefully unprepared for a projected doubling of the national Alzheimer's population by 2050, and this "should sound an alarm regarding the future of dementia care in America," reports Big Think . Americans over 65 with Alzheimer's are forecast to total 13.8 million by 2050, and their situation will be exacerbated by a lack of appropriately trained healthcare professionals. "As a nation, we need to triple the number of geriatricians who were practicing in 2019 to have enough geriatricians to care for those 65 and older who are projected to have Alzheimer's dementia in 2050," the study said. Although primary care physicians (PCPs) are generally considered the "front line" for treating and diagnosing Alzheimer's, overreliance on them carries heavy costs. A poll found that 39 percent of PCPs reported "never or only sometimes being comfortable personally making a diagnosis of Alzheimer's or other dementias." Among the study's policy recommendations is offering scholarship and loan forgiveness programs, which incentivize people to attend medical and nursing schools and practice in rural regions; increasing education funding; and supporting programs to build capacity in primary care.