The Gerontological Society of America has released a report on how prepared the primary care workforce is to start using digital cognitive assessments, or DCAs, in the process of diagnosing cognitive impairment and dementia. Titled "Advancing Cognitive Care: Clinician Awareness, Attitudes, and Interest in Digital Cognitive Assessments for Cognitive Evaluation," it draws on surveys of health care providers commissioned by the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease and fielded in August and September 2025 by GSA together with the American Academy of Family Physicians.
The problem the report addresses is familiar to anyone who has sat through a memory screening in a doctor's office. Most cognitive testing in primary care still runs on paper, and that approach carries a degree of subjectivity and produces data too coarse to reliably pick up the small shifts that mark early-stage decline. Early detection is widely considered one of the most important levers in managing Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, yet the tools most clinics have on hand are not well suited to catching subtle change.
Digital versions of these assessments, according to the report, may offer finer-grained insight into how a person's cognition is changing over time. That kind of detail could support earlier therapeutic intervention and better coordination among the clinicians involved in a patient's care, with downstream benefits for people living with dementia and the family members supporting them.
The surveys turned up both sides of the picture: real interest and promise, alongside the practical friction of fitting new digital tools into a busy clinic day. The report identifies priorities that would need to be addressed for wider adoption, which is arguably its most useful contribution - the technology exists, but whether it reaches patients depends on what happens in ordinary primary care practices.