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Primary Care Physician Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence for Dementia Screening: A Qualitative Study
Hannah Hanson, Jalayne J. Arias, Heather M. Wurtz, Margaret Manchester, Catherine E. A. Scipion, Alex D. Federman. AJOB Empirical Bioethics, 2026-01-02
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Participants reported routine screening for cognitive impairment only in the context of the Medicare annual wellness visit and generally avoided routine screening because of limited treatment options to support patients, such as poor access to geriatrics/neuropsychiatric services. Thematic analysis revealed several perceived benefits: enhanced clinical efficiency, engagement in cognitive healthcare of their patients, and expanded access to cognitive care. They identified several potential challenges with ethics concerns about accuracy of the technology, bias, difficulty communicating the technology and results to patients and caregivers that could impact their ability to provide informed consent, and risks to patients (privacy, stigmatization and insurability). They noted that without more health system infrastructure to support patients with dementia, the benefits of automated screening would be limited. Physicians identified several critical ethical challenges to automated CI screening. Health systems will need to address these challenges to ensure benefit for and the safety, autonomy and privacy of patients and ultimately, the successful implementation of such technology.
Key findings
- Participants reported routine screening for cognitive impairment only in the context of the Medicare annual wellness visit and generally avoided routine screening because of limited treatment options to support patients, such as poor access to geriatrics/neuropsychiatric services.
- Thematic analysis revealed several perceived benefits: enhanced clinical efficiency, engagement in cognitive healthcare of their patients, and expanded access to cognitive care.
- They identified several potential challenges with ethics concerns about accuracy of the technology, bias, difficulty communicating the technology and results to patients and caregivers that could impact their ability to provide informed consent, and risks to patients (privacy, stigmatization and ins
- They noted that without more health system infrastructure to support patients with dementia, the benefits of automated screening would be limited.
- Physicians identified several critical ethical challenges to automated CI screening.
Why it matters
Primary care physicians said they generally avoid routine cognitive screening because of limited treatment options and poor access to specialist services, and they raised ethical concerns about automated screening. This is about implementation and ethics, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 33/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (AJOB Empirical Bioethics) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | AJOB Empirical Bioethics: journal h-index 30 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 1 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.5 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 1 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Alex D. Federman: h-index 50 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: institution h-index 1,331 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41700962) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 33 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Hanson, H., Arias, J. J., Wurtz, H. M., Manchester, M., Scipion, C. E. A., & Federman, A. D. (2026). Primary Care Physician Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence for Dementia Screening: A Qualitative Study. AJOB Empirical Bioethics. https://doi.org/10.1080/23294515.2026.2632089
Vancouver
Hanson H, Arias JJ, Wurtz HM, Manchester M, Scipion CEA, Federman AD. Primary Care Physician Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence for Dementia Screening: A Qualitative Study. AJOB Empirical Bioethics. 2026. doi:10.1080/23294515.2026.2632089. PMID: 41700962.
BibTeX
@article{hanson2026-41700962,
author = {Hanson, Hannah and Arias, Jalayne J. and Wurtz, Heather M. and Manchester, Margaret and Scipion, Catherine E. A. and Federman, Alex D.},
title = {{Primary Care Physician Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence for Dementia Screening: A Qualitative Study}},
journal = {AJOB Empirical Bioethics},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1080/23294515.2026.2632089},
pmid = {41700962},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/23294515.2026.2632089}
}
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