1,347
Views
41
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Review

Multidisciplinary care for people with Parkinson’s disease: the new kids on the block!

, , , , , , , , , , , , & show all
Pages 145-157 | Received 12 Oct 2018, Accepted 18 Dec 2018, Published online: 09 Jan 2019
 

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic multisystem disorder that causes a wide variety of motor and non-motor symptoms. Over time, the progressive nature of the disease increases the risk of complications such as falls and loss of independence, having a profound impact on quality of life. The complexity and heterogeneity of symptoms therefore warrant a holistic, multidisciplinary approach. Specific healthcare professionals, e.g. the movement disorders neurologist and the PD nurse specialist, are considered essential members of this multidisciplinary team. However, with our increasing knowledge about different aspects of the disease, other disciplines are also being recognized as important contributors to the healthcare team.

Areas covered: The authors describe a selection of these relatively newly-recognized disciplines, including the specialist in vascular medicine, gastroenterologist, pulmonologist, neuro-ophthalmologist, urologist, geriatrician/elderly care physician, palliative care specialist and the dentist. Furthermore, they share the view of a person with PD on how patients and caregivers should be involved in the multidisciplinary team. Finally, they have included a perspective on the new role of the movement disorder neurologist, with care delivery via ‘tele-neurology’.

Expert commentary: Increased awareness about the potential role of these ‘new’ professionals will further improve disease management and quality of life of PD patients.

Declaration of interest

B. Bloem was supported by a research grant of the Parkinson’s Foundation. D. Radder, H. Lennaerts and N. de Vries were supported by a research grant of ZonMw (The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development). The other authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Author contributions

Paragraph 2.1 ‘The person with PD’ is a contribution by J. Andrejack, Parkinson’s Foundation Patient Advocate in Research and person with Parkinson’s disease.

Paragraph 2.2 ‘The specialist in vascular medicine’ is a contribution by N. Riksen, professor of Vascular Medicine.

Paragraph 2.3 ‘The gastroenterologist’ is a contribution by S. Diamond, assistant professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Paragraph 2.4 ‘The pulmonologist/respiratory rehabilitation specialist’ is a contribution by D. Gross, pulmonary medicine and rehabilitation specialist.

Paragraph 2.5 ‘The neuro-ophthalmologist’ is a contribution by D. Gold, assistant professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology.

Paragraph 2.6 ‘The urologist’ is a contribution by J. Heesakkers, urologist.

Paragraph 2.7 “The geriatrician/elderly care physician is a contribution by D. Hommel, elderly care physician and E. Henderson, consultant Geriatrician.

Paragraph 2.8 ‘The palliative care specialist’ is a contribution by H. Lennaerts, Parkinson’s disease nurse specialist and junior investigator Palliative Care for people with Parkinson’s disease.

Paragraph 2.9 ‘The dentist’ is a contribution by J. Busch, former dentist and person with Parkinson’s disease.

Paragraph 2.10 ‘The new role of the movement disorders specialist via tele-neurology’ is a contribution by R. Dorsey, professor of Neurology specialized in movement disorders.

D. Radder and N. de Vries drafted the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the manuscript. B. Bloem is the study guarantor.

Additional information

Funding

 

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.