For millions of patients and their caregivers, a family physician is the first, and perhaps only, clinician available to help them navigate cognitive decline. Compounding the challenge is the already full plate and high rates of burnout among family medicine physicians.
Enter the ACOFP program on cognitive care, sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company.
Lilly’s Investment in Cognitive Care and Family Medicine Readiness
Lilly recognizes that awareness of dementia and cognitive conditions must begin long before discussions about potential pharmaceutical treatments.
Matt Farber, Sr. Director of Alzheimer’s Advocacy & Professional Relations at Lilly, said, “We want to help providers be more proactive. Primary care clinicians have full plates, and it’s almost impossible for them to keep track of the latest advancements for every disease and condition they treat. Programs like this one with ACOFP help advance education to keep them informed and empowered.”
The goal, continued Matt, is to support programs that look at cognitive care holistically across early diagnosis, lifestyle changes and, where appropriate, treatments that involve medication.
“Family medicine looks different depending on where someone lives in the United States. Patients are treated by practitioners that could have an MD, DO, NP, PA, or RN after their name, and access to care varies widely in rural and urban areas as well as across socioeconomic lines. We want to cast a wide net to ensure all providers of primary care have the resources they need to make educated decisions for patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Matt was impressed by what he saw at ACOFP’s 2025 Convention: members' passion and commitment to dialogue and action that leads to the best possible patient outcomes. For him and the team at Lilly, the measure of success is earlier conversations, more consistent assessments and intervention before it becomes medically necessary. "We've normalized conversations about heart health. People generally know what to do now to prevent issues later," continued Matt. "We want the same to be true for brain health."
Understanding the Urgency of Cognitive Care
The numbers are hard to ignore. More than 7 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease alone, a figure projected to climb 86% over the next 24 years. Millions more are serving as unpaid caregivers, often without adequate support of their own. Factor in the shortage of dementia specialists across most communities and the gap between need and available care becomes stark.
Patients and families are increasingly coming to their primary care physicians with questions, concerns and expectations, and those physicians need the right information and tools to meet them there.
2026 Cognitive Care Program with ACOFP and Lilly
An entire slate of content and experiences will launch in 2026 to support ACOFP member physicians: a blog series of interviews and resources provided by physicians, caregivers, medical experts and community partners; a micro-learning video series; sharable caregiver handout; and clinical companion guide to aid physicians in their conversations, care and treatment of dementia and cognitive care conditions.
The program kicks into high gear at the ACOFP Annual Convention in Orlando with a live session—"Cognitive Care Across the Lifespan: Practical Insights for Primary Care Clinicians"—that brings together osteopathic family physicians, an Alzheimer's Association representative, a physician from Lilly’s Medical Affairs team and a caregiver, for a conversation on cognitive care from midlife through advanced disease.
