Europe’s well being methods stand at a crossroads – reshaped by the shockwaves of the COVID-19 pandemic and propelled ahead by groundbreaking scientific innovation, we now face a defining second to reimagine how care is delivered, accessed, and sustained.
Recent expertise has made one precept clear: agility and foresight are important to safe the resilience of nationwide well being methods. That crucial is very related as momentum builds to deal with one in every of Europe’s most urgent public well being challenges – Alzheimer’s illness (AD). For the primary time, dementia and AD have been acknowledged on the UN stage as precedence public well being challenges in noncommunicable ailments, signaling a world shift towards motion.
While innovation steams forward, supply methods have fallen behind
According to current estimates, almost 10 million individuals throughout Europe dwell with dementia, with AD accounting for almost all of circumstances.1 By 2050, this quantity is projected to virtually double.1 With estimates additionally indicating that the financial value of AD had already reached €392 billion by 2019,1 it’s clear that the impression of AD on people, households and well being budgets will solely improve with time.
So how are well being methods responding to the problem? For essentially the most half, too slowly, and too reactively. Whilst scientific analysis has been delivering new interventions that provide the prospect to sluggish the development of early-stage symptomatic AD, 2,3,4 methods set as much as ship AD prognosis and care haven’t stored tempo.4 Maximizing the advantage of new interventions for AD depends on figuring out sufferers within the earliest levels of illness and enabling speedy entry to applicable diagnostics and care; a requirement that almost all healthcare methods aren’t optimized to ship. A current real-world research of clinicians, for instance, underlined how outdated and under-resourced medical pathways feed into diagnostic delays, together with the discovering that sufferers referred to a specialist from major care would wait a median of 5 months for a prognosis.5
Leveraging examples of profitable native system transformation
With a quickly increasing affected person inhabitants, the necessity for extra proactive healthcare methods that heart the wants of AD sufferers and embrace new improvements has by no means been extra pressing. Positively, a current report from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) highlights a collection of native successes taking place throughout Europe, the place sensible but pioneering, scalable and patient-centered options are being applied to handle long-standing challenges in AD prognosis and care.1
In the Netherlands, pilot packages have streamlined referral pathways and leveraged major care networks to make sure earlier detection of cognitive decline.1 These efforts have resulted in diminished ready instances, with collaboration and care high quality improved by over 40%.1 In Germany, a speech-based digital evaluation platform has been proven to scale back the time and price of early prognosis, with 80% of customers reporting consolation utilizing it.1
And within the post-diagnostic area, the usage of nationwide registries and digital platforms in Sweden is enabling real-time monitoring of affected person outcomes, supporting high quality enchancment and extra personalised care.1 Shifting to a extra environment friendly testing mannequin in Stockholm clinics additionally elevated affected person throughput by 119% and saved the well being system €150 per check, leading to annual financial savings of no less than €2 million.1
Building political will to drive change
The examples above, together with many others featured within the EFPIA report, spotlight that not solely is it doable to adapt present AD pathways and combine new evidence-based options, however that doing so can provide tangible advantages for sufferers together with important value financial savings. Yet remoted activations won’t engender the funding and coordinated, cross-sectional motion required to shift perceptions of AD and guarantee sustainable and equitable entry to innovation.
In the phrases of the Global Coalition on Ageing (GCOA), the place “different international well being challenges, like most cancers, HIV/AIDS, and heart problems, have benefited from coordinated advocacy, political prioritization, and strategic funding, Alzheimer’s illness has but to match the identical stage of strategic investments and funding.” This reflection might have impressed the group to launch its new Alzheimer’s Policy and Impact Playbook, which brings collectively knowledgeable steering, together with pertinent examples from different illness areas, to tell and encourage advocates trying to have an effect on significant motion and funding from key determination makers.
Turning inspiration into implementation
Europe faces a defining second within the struggle in opposition to AD that calls for imaginative and prescient, management, and coordinated motion. Policymakers and well being leaders should seize this chance to enact significant reforms that make innovation accessible to everybody who wants it. The classes of current years – and greatest apply examples from throughout Europe – present that progress is feasible. Clinical realities are starting to answer affected person wants, with scalable options remodeling prognosis and care. With the precise funding, collaboration and dedication we will safeguard well being methods, and most significantly, ship earlier prognosis, higher therapies and take care of individuals residing with Alzheimer’s illness and their households. This is how we construct a more healthy, extra resilient Europe for generations to come back.
References
- Future-Proofing the Alzheimer’s Disease Healthcare Journey. Emerging Best Practices Across Europe. EFPIA. September 2025. Available at: https://www.efpia.eu/news-events/the-efpia-view/statements-press-releases/alzheimer-s-disease-future-proofing-the-healthcare-journey-in-europe/. Last accessed: December 2025.
- Jessen F, et al. Progress within the remedy of Alzheimer’s illness is required – place assertion of European Alzheimer’s Disease Consortium (EADC) investigators. Journal. 2024.
- Rasmussen J, et al. Alzheimer’s Disease – Why We Need Early Diagnosis. Degener Neurol Neuromuscul Dis. 2019;9: 123-130.
- Rethinking Alzheimer’s Disease (2024). Rethinking Alzheimer’s Disease Pathway: From Diagnosis to Care. Available at: https://www.braincouncil.eu/ebc-launches-rethinking-alzheimers-disease-pathway-from-diagnosis-to-care-perspective-paper/ Last accessed: December 2025.
- Vasileva-Metodiev SZ, Spargo D, Klein EG, et al. Diagnostic journey and administration of sufferers with delicate cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s illness dementia: A multinational, real-world survey. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2025;0(0).
