Parkinson’s ON, an app originally developed and self-funded by Parkinson’s patient Kuhan Pushparatnam to offer support to those living with the condition, has launched a series of new features after being picked up by Parkinson’s UK.
Starting out with functionality to help Parkinson’s patients take their medications on time, track symptoms and log activities, the new features introduced also allow people to plan their mealtimes around their medication schedule; track ‘off’ periods where medication wears off and symptoms can worsen; keep a diary; and access resources for wellbeing, news and research.
The app has also reportedly helped to gather data and insights from over 2,500 users, including their range of symptoms and struggles with things like low mood and sexual dysfunction.
Kuhan commented on his belief that “tech, when done right, can be a great enabler in daily life”, and shared the ambition for the app to “not only empower those of us living with the condition, but ultimately allow for a better, more informed quality of care”.
The role of digital and tech in supporting Parkinson’s patients
Earlier this year, Leeds Teaching Hospitals launched a pilot project involving the use of a smartphone application designed to monitor and manage Parkinson’s disease symptoms, with 90 patients utilising the app and plans for future expansion.
Great Ormond Street Hospital also developed a machine learning tool aiming to predict Parkinson’s disease before onset of symptoms, and a clinical trial team implanting a device to block electrical pathways in order to treat epilepsy.
Spotlight on patient-facing tech and remote management
For a recent HTN Now panel discussion on the topic of patient engagement, we were joined by a panel of experts to talk about current priorities and projects in this space, to share learnings on adopting patient-centred processes and solutions, and to highlight outcomes and challenges around engaging patients with support from digital.
In September, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s heart failure virtual ward introduced use of a remote monitoring digital service, an online platform with a wearable device that collects personalised data about the user’s everyday physical activity, utilising the information to help them learn how to optimise their daily movement, build a programme suitable for the individual, and increase fitness levels with one-to-one mentor support.
Also on virtual wards, HTN highlighted a study exploring the impact of remote monitoring on patients who had recently experienced a heart attack.
