Category: Technology
Objective: To investigate the feasibility and efficacy of virtual visits (TM) for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) compared to in-person visits in different World Health Organization (WHO) regions.
Background: With limited access to specialists for PD patients due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for virtual visits skyrocketed, stimulating advances in telehealth technology. This study compares the feasibility and acceptance of telemedicine (TM)-delivered care in different World Health Organization (WHO) regions.
Method: This is an international, 12-month, multi-center, case-control study from 7 countries (Spain, Nigeria, Egypt, Tanzania, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea) (NCT04695353). We included a convenience sample of outpatient PD patients who were able to conduct a videoconference. Patients were randomly assigned to a control group (in-office visits at baseline, 3, 6, 9, 12 months) and to a TM group (in-office visits at baseline, 6 and 12 months + TM visits at 3 and 9 months). Clinical assessments gathered at each in-office visit included quality of life (PDQ-39), PD severity using the MDS-UPDRS, and the Telemedicine Usability and Satisfaction Questionnaire (TUQ) in each virtual visit.
Results: We included 202 PD patients, 59% of whom were males with a mean age of 66.20 (15.01) years, mean education of 10.86 (5.28) years, baseline MOCA score of 23.2 (5.6) and mean distance to the medical center of 88.01 km (222,18) Km. When the TM group were compared to in-office group, mean number of treatment adjustments, MDS-UPDRS part III and PDQ-39 scores were similar at baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up visits (all p-values >0.05). Across centers, 57% of the patients were highly satisfied with TM.
Conclusion: This feasibility study represents real-world practice in multiple WHO regions, using a non-inferiority approach with an alternate schedule for TM visits complementary to in-person visits. Based on these results, the management of PD is similar using TM vs. in-office visits, and thus feasible in multiple WHO regions.
Patients participation
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
A. Garcia-Bustillo, J. Youn, J. Hyeon, L. Oyatoye, N. Okubadejo, A. Shalash, Z. Aldaajani, A. Cardozo, M. Spindler, Z. Mari, M. Essan, E. Cubo. The Feasibility and Practical utility of Virtual Visits for Patients with Parkinson’s disease in Different World Regions [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2024; 39 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-feasibility-and-practical-utility-of-virtual-visits-for-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-in-different-world-regions/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2024 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-feasibility-and-practical-utility-of-virtual-visits-for-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-in-different-world-regions/