Abstract
Introduction: Chronic progressive neurodegenerative diseases severely impact the quality of life of affected patients. Due to the progressive nature of Parkinson’s disease as well as the complex motor- und non-motor symptoms, individual treatment plans need to be adjusted frequently. This requires mutual communication between various health care providers that also takes into account the growing evidence-based expertise, especially on non-pharmacological treatment options. In order to facilitate regular interdisciplinary communication multiple Parkinson’s disease networks were established in various regions. Here we describe the development, implementation and evaluation of a digital platform that allows easy and quick exchange of standardised treatment recommendations between health care providers.
Methods: In this quasi-experimental study with control group, 185 patients are recruited in both groups. Patients in the intervention group are enrolled from the Westphalian region Münsterland, whereby the control group consists of patients outside this region and receive treatment as usual and as prescribed by their neurologists. For the intervention group participating health care providers are recruited in our region and received 4 hours of specialised training. The patients receive therapies planned and coordinated through the digital platform for 12 months. The evaluation is conducted in a mixed-methods approach. Primary outcome for the effectiveness evaluation is quality of life (PDQ-39), further outcomes are UPDRS, H&Y as well as Schwab & England. The process evaluation consists of a social network analysis and team effectiveness analysis to assess the degree of networking between healthcare providers. Further, an economic evaluation is conducted.
Conclusion: So far, 26 neurologists, 42 physical therapists, 47 occupational therapists and 31 speech therapists and 120 patients could be included in the study. Recruitment will continue until March 2023 and we expect first results in February/March 2023. We expect the intervention to have a significant impact on improving disease-related symptoms and communication between practitioners.