Objective: To enhance our understanding of the clinical use of digital diagnostic and monitoring technologies among movement disorders clinicians worldwide.

Background: The field of movement disorders is evolving rapidly.  Digital technologies such as electronic medical records and telemedicine visits have dramatically changed clinical practice. Innovations in artificial intelligence, wearable devices, and internet of things are transforming society. Despite the promise to revolutionize medicine, the real-world adoption of digital technologies in clinical practice appears to be limited despite surveys suggesting high levels of patient interest (1,2).

Method: An online survey was developed by the MDS technology study group through an iterative process incorporating feedback from the study group as a whole. The survey focused on the use of digital technology in the clinical care of individuals with movement disorders over the preceding year. As part of pilot testing before a large-scale global distribution to all MDS members, an internal study group distribution was conducted using SurveyMonkey, with each respondent receiving a unique link via email. Responses were collected between 25 November 2024 to 20 January 2025. Only completed surveys were included in the analysis.

Results: To date, thirty-two expert responses were submitted; responses came from 20 unique countries and from both clinicians and researchers with a focus on digital technologies applied to movement disorders [Table 1].  The survey revealed widespread use of electronic and digital tools for clinical assessments, with moderate to low use of mobile health technology for monitoring symptoms, despite generally positive perceptions [Figure 1 and Figure 2]. Respondents rated the most substantial patient barriers to technology use as low technology literacy and poor patient usability, as for clinician barriers these were insufficient incorporation into care models and lack of time or financial compensation for technology use [Table 2].

Conclusion: Despite perceived clinical value, this survey indicates that digital technologies have not universally been largely adopted, and substantial differences exist between clinical practices, even among experts. The identification of significant barriers and the standardization of digital assessment could facilitate the implementation of digital technology in the clinical care of individuals with movement disorders.   

Table 1

Figure 1

Figure 2

Table 2

References: 1. Hirczy S, Zabetian C, Lin YH. The current state of wearable device use in Parkinson’s disease: a survey of individuals with Parkinson’s. Front Digit Health. 2024 Dec 23;6:1472691.
2. Pacoud et al. Patient perspectives on the use of digital medical devices and health data for AI-driven personalised medicine in Parkinson’s Disease Front Neurol . 2024 Dec 4:15:1453243.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/bridging-the-digital-gap-a-global-survey-of-technology-adoption-by-the-mds-technology-study-group/