Slovenia

In Slovenia, dementia diagnosis uses primary-care screening followed by specialized memory-clinic assessment. Doctors apply tools like MMSE and MoCA. Suspected cases are referred to University Medical Centre Ljubljana or University Medical Centre Maribor for comprehensive neuropsychological testing aligned with European Alzheimer’s Disease Consortium standards and national dementia-strategy guidelines.

Dementia imaging typically begins with MRI, the gold standard at University Medical Centre Ljubljana and University Medical Centre Maribor, identifying brain atrophy and vascular lesions. CT is used when MRI is unavailable. Functional scans like FDG-PET or SPECT help differentiate dementia types and support biomarker-guided treatment decisions.

National strategy allows selective genetic testing for early-onset dementia or strong family history, via specialists at University Medical Centre Ljubljana Memory Clinic or University Psychiatric Clinic Ljubljana.

Slovenia is gradually adopting blood biomarkers alongside imaging and CSF markers. Amyloid PET remains mainly research-based at University Medical Centre Ljubljana Neurology Clinic, while CSF biomarkers support diagnosis in limited cases as new European guidelines and therapies expand biomarker use.

University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Department of Neurology – Centre for Cognitive Impairments (Memory Clinic)

Within the University Psychiatric Hospital Ljubljana, the Geriatric Psychiatry Department provides psychiatric care for older adults, including dementia-related services; cited in national context for dementia care capacities.

The monthly informal and social care costs for people living with dementia ranged between EUR 1,037 and EUR 3,369. Direct healthcare costs are a smaller portion of total dementia costs, with estimates of EUR 265 million for formal/ or informal home help and EUR 105 million for nursing home accommodation in Slovenia, underscoring that diagnostic costs are modest compared to broader societal care costs.

As of early 2026, Alzheimer’s disease medications in Slovenia are largely covered under the national compulsory health insurance scheme managed by the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia (ZZZS). Standard cognitive enhancers, including donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine, and memantine, are listed on the ZZZS positive reimbursement list and are typically reimbursed at 100% of the reference price, meaning people only pay a small co-payment if they opt for a brand-name drug priced above the ZZZS “maximum recognised value.” These medicines must be prescribed by a neurologist or psychiatrist, ensuring specialist oversight in diagnosis and treatment continuation. In contrast, the new biologic Alzheimer’s disease therapies, such as donanemab and lecanemab, though authorised at the European level, are not yet included in Slovenia’s reimbursement list and remain pending national HTA and pricing review. As a result, patients currently bear the full cost of these newer options, while the mainstay generic Alzheimer’s disease medications remain widely accessible through public coverage.

Slovenia’s National Dementia Strategy (2017–2020) recognises family care partners as essential to dementia care. It aims to strengthen home and community support systems, create day and respite centres, and provide professional training for both formal and informal carers.

Carers can receive social support benefits under the Long-Term Care Act (effective 2024), including social security coverage, training, and respite services. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like Spominčica Alzheimer Slovenija also provide counselling and support groups.

Home help and dementia-specific day centres exist, mainly in larger cities, offering basic daily assistance and structured programmes. However, service availability remains inconsistent, with limited coverage and long waiting times in rural areas.

The Spominčica’s Dementia-Friendly Points network trains staff across public-facing organisations to support people living with dementia and their care partners; provides local information and post-diagnostic support, backed by the Ministries of Labour and Health.

E-care at home (telecare) project is a nationwide telecare service led by Telekom Slovenije and ZDUS; licensed by the Ministry of Labour; supports older adults and those living with cognitive decline or dementia to live safely at home, reducing carer strain.

National programmes co-financed by the Ministry of Labour and municipalities provide carer training (communication, home care skills, respite options, palliative care).

The DFS network’s growth has been co-funded via Ministry of Health tenders, embedding carer-oriented awareness and support across communities.

The Slovenian government adopted the “Dementia Management Strategy in the country until 2030,” setting an integrated, multi-stakeholder approach and action plans to 2030, with initial actions for 2023–2024.
The current national strategy builds on Slovenia’s earlier National Strategy for Dementia Control (2017–2020), which defined ten areas including awareness, early diagnosis, coordinated care, access to medication, research, surveillance, social care, palliative care, regional multidisciplinary centres, GP cognitive testing, and education for professionals and carers.
The main objectives from Slovenia’s official Dementia Management Strategy until 2030 (Strategija obvladovanja demence v Sloveniji do leta 2030) are to:
• Reduce stigma and raise public awareness about dementia
• Strengthen prevention and risk reduction across the life course
• Improve early detection, diagnosis, and post-diagnostic support
• Ensure timely, coordinated, and person-centred health and social care across settings (home, community, long-term care)
• Develop and support long-term care for people living with dementia, with emphasis on care at home and in local communities
• Establish and maintain a national dementia dataset and registry and improve data, monitoring, and evaluation
• Build workforce capacity: education and training for health, social care professionals, informal carers, and volunteers
• Promote and support research, innovation, and evidence-based practice
• Protect the rights, dignity, and participation of people living with dementia and support carers
• Ensure appropriate care during epidemics and other emergencies, and strengthen system governance (including a National Dementia Centre)

Several elements are already in implementation, while others are in setup phases. Based on official announcements and stakeholder updates, the most advanced areas are action planning, awareness and outreach, workforce training, and steps toward data infrastructure. The government of Slovenia confirmed that the registry and National Dementia Centre are in progress but not yet fully operational.
Furthermore, the government approved the first two-year action plan to implement the 2030 Strategy, detailing measures, responsible bodies, indicators, timelines, funding, and expected results for 2024–2025.
Ongoing national awareness efforts to reduce stigma and community initiatives (e.g., Dementia-Friendly Points6) have been scaled and supported under the strategy framework, which were already active and continue under the new plan.
Continued education and competency-building for health and social care providers and support for informal carers are part of the active implementation, with defined actions in the 2024–2025 plan.

The National Institute of Public Health confirmed publicly that its technical groups are updating national clinical pathways and financing models for new dementia therapies within the strategic framework 2020–2030.

Led by Spominčica Alzheimer Slovenia in partnership with the Institute of Public Health and municipalities, the Dementia Friendly Communities program is expanding in 2025–2027 beyond pilot towns into a national programme, funded under the Health Promotion and Social Cohesion budget.

University Medical Centre Ljubljana researchers outline how Slovenian memory clinics would reorganise pathways, capacity, safety monitoring, and costs to introduce therapies like lecanemab. The purpose was to anticipate national system implications of introducing monoclonal antibody treatments (lecanemab and similar) into Slovenia’s public health system, focusing on: diagnostic and care pathways, memory‑clinic capacity and workforce, infusion logistics, imaging, and safety monitoring, and financial affordability and scalability
They estimate substantial system impacts and model national affordability and logistics. More specifically, they find that treating all potential candidates nationwide would cost ≈ €1.06 billion per year, exceeding Slovenia’s entire 2022 national medication spending (€743 million). Even if restricted to high‑priority patients, fiscal impact remains “substantial and likely unsustainable without EU co‑financing or price renegotiation.”

Slovenia served as a regional hub in the Innovative Health Initiative project MOPEAD (Models of patient engagement for Alzheimer’s disease), which piloted innovative ways to find people living with prodromal Alzheimer’s disease and mild Alzheimer’s disease in the community (e.g., web‑based pre‑screening, memory clinic open days, GP routes)

Slovenian partners are involved in PROMINENT, a 5‑year Innovative Health Initiative public‑private project building a digital precision‑medicine platform to improve diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and co‑morbidities.