Vanderbilt builds Alzheimer’s referral AI

Vanderbilt Health said on August 5 that its researchers received a grant from Eli Lilly and Company to build an artificial intelligence tool inside the electronic health record to move Alzheimer’s patients to treatment faster. The project will focus on the referral step from primary care or geriatrics to neurology, according to Vanderbilt and a report that cited the institution. (news.vumc.org) Vanderbilt said the software will sit inside existing clinical workflow rather than replace physician judgment. The work comes as health systems and drugmakers are trying to reduce delays around newer Alzheimer’s treatment pathways. (news-medical.net) ### What, exactly, is Vanderbilt building? The project is an 18-month, $600,000 effort to create an AI triage agent embedded in Vanderbilt Health’s EHR, according to Vanderbilt Health News and News-Medical. (news.vumc.org) As a clinician enters a referral for cognitive concern, the tool is designed to summarize relevant chart information, identify missing details that often slow evaluation, and suggest whether a case should be routed as priority or standard. Vanderbilt said the aim is to shorten the time between a clinician’s concern and a specialist evaluation for patients who may be eligible for Alzheimer’s treatment. The institution also said the project is being designed so it can be transferred to other health systems. (news.vumc.org) ### Why is the referral step getting this much attention? Alzheimer’s treatment pathways now require more than a diagnosis alone. Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s program includes diagnostic, therapeutic and real-world prescribing work, according to materials the company published for the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in 2026. (news.vumc.org) The Vanderbilt project is aimed at a narrower operational problem: getting the right patient to neurology with enough information in the chart for the next step. News-Medical, citing Vanderbilt, said the software will flag missing details that commonly delay evaluation rather than make a stand-alone diagnosis. (news.vumc.org) ### Who at Vanderbilt is positioned to run this? Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center is the institution’s main Alzheimer’s clinical and research hub. The center says it focuses on prevention, early diagnosis and treatment, and Vanderbilt says it is Tennessee’s only Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. (investor.lilly.com) In July 2025, Vanderbilt said the center received a five-year, $25 million Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center of Excellence award. That existing research and clinical infrastructure gives the referral project a setting inside a health system already expanding its Alzheimer’s work. (news-medical.net) ### Is this a diagnostic AI tool? Vanderbilt’s description frames the software as workflow support, not as a replacement for clinicians. News-Medical reported that the tool will recommend referral routing and surface missing information inside the EHR, while Vanderbilt said the work is meant to get patients to treatment faster through the referral process. (vumc.org) Vanderbilt’s broader AI guidance also shows the institution has been building governed, internally managed generative AI tools for clinical and operational use. Its Department of Biomedical Informatics says private, institutionally managed tools are being developed under institutional controls rather than through public-facing systems. (news.vumc.org) ### Why is Eli Lilly funding this work? Eli Lilly is a central drugmaker in Alzheimer’s disease treatment and research. The company’s recent public materials highlight diagnostic science, therapeutic development, health economics and patient-centered outcomes in Alzheimer’s disease. (news.vumc.org) Vanderbilt and Lilly have also worked together on other AI-enabled care projects. In September 2025, Vanderbilt said Lilly funded a separate two-year, $1 million project using AI and EHR analysis to study gaps in obesity care. Vanderbilt said the Alzheimer’s referral project is now underway, with the AI agent being built inside the EHR over the 18-month grant period. (vumc.org) The next concrete milestone is deployment of the referral tool for cognitive-concern cases moving from primary care or geriatrics to neurology, according to Vanderbilt’s August 5 report. (news.vumc.org 1) (news.vumc.org 2) (investor.lilly.com)