Personalized medicine (PM) and patient-orchestrated care (POC) are frequently used terms in healthcare communication, policy, and research. Clarity of these constructs is important, as ambiguity in interpretation may lead to miscommunication and false assumptions both within and across disciplines. We aimed to explore the understanding of PM and POC among interdisciplinary professionals in the field of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 senior-level professionals from healthcare, society, industry and academia. Audio-recordings were transcribed and coded inductively and deductively by two researchers independently, using the ‘framework approach’. Some professionals understood PM from a (bio-)medical perspective (e.g., medication, precision medicine), whereas others additionally employed a social perspective (e.g., personal needs, patient-centeredness). Most professionals distinguished PM from POC, and they mainly understood POC from a social perspective, entailing either full control for the person affected or shared responsibility and decision-making. Professionals agreed that care partners should also be involved in PM and POC. Professionals appear to understand the construct of PM differently, which could lead to miscommunication. In line with their historically different backgrounds and values, the concepts of PM and POC are perceived distinctively. We plead for a more uniform understanding of PM, which may reduce miscommunication and false assumptions among interdisciplinary professionals, and therewith improve the validity of healthcare policy and research. These results are a first step towards discussions among interdisciplinary professionals in the AD field, allowing for reflection on current standards of good practice and optimization of communication. Moreover, the exact associations and interrelations between the terms PM, POC, person-centeredness, and personalization are currently unclear and this study may pave the way for a preliminary figure. •How do PM, POC, person-centeredness and personalization interrelate?•How to improve communication among interdisciplinary professionals and translate Findings: into practice?