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This is the future to Parkinson’s care

You have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s but for those who live far from a medical center that specializes in Parkinson’s or Neurologist that have experience with Parkinson’s regular visits can involve significant travel time, expense and discomfort. “What if” a new slant to the old traditional method of the family Doctor making house calls was available?

A virtual office visit is a new slant utilizing off the shelf technology to this “Old Traditional” way of home visits via a computer screen, tablet or smart phone to have access to a team specialized in Parkinson’s no matter where you live. Living in a rural or remote area or an area poorly served by these types of medical services in now a click away.

Studies show that people with Parkinson’s who see medical professionals who specialize in movement disorders quality of life improve. However 40% of those with Parkinson’s do not see or have access to a specialist or neurologist. This is great news for those people with Parkinson’s that the nearest specialist is hour’s drive time away or the disease as advanced that making a trip of this magnitude is impossible.

What if you could build you own comprehensive support team and have visits in your home via the internet with virtual office visits? The structure and orientation of your comprehensive care team would be tailored for your needs with team members changing as the disease progress. You would structure this team from home surrounded by your family and care partners. The key components of the health professionals would be your neurologists and other recommended medical professionals.

Who would be on this team? The structure and orientation of a comprehensive care team could vary depending on the resources that are available, with members changing as needed as the disease progresses. One thing is certain and is central to the success is the treatment is focused on living well with PD. This requires an active participation by the person with Parkinson’s. In your home these individuals, their family and loved ones, are the most critical members of the team. Having them participate in virtual office visits would be a very important part of building a support team. Other team members would be professionals from their offices may include physician assistants, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech and language pathologists. Creative therapists in art, music and recreation also play an important role, and some teams include spiritual counselors, psychologists or neuropsychologists.

A virtual appointment uses a computer or tablet and technologies similar to those you may already know, such as SKYPE or FACETIME, which require a video camera and microphone for both users.  Medical devices are used to access symptoms during the virtual appointment replacing the clinical examination) and electronically transmit the information to your Doctor. There are a variety of places your virtual visit can take place including your home, Assisted Living Facility, or Doctors office of Clinic.

Whereas virtual office visits has advantages there are also challenges to name a few. Most doctors are approved to practice medicine in one state only usually where they resided same with licensed professionals as occupational therapist, speech therapist etc.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]