Telehealth for patients with Parkinson's disease: delivering efficient and sustainable long-term care
Abstract
Objectives We set out to demonstrate the benefits of providing long-term care via telehealth for patients with Parkinson's disease living in continuous care facilities. Methods A cohort of 16 patients with Parkinson's disease residing at one of 2 locations of a multi-facility continuous care retirement organization were seen virtually in follow-up over a 3-year period by Telehealth Services at a large, academic, tertiary care hospital in southeastern Pennsylvania. The data collected during that period, studied retrospectively, included demographic information, number of telehealth visits, and UPDRS scores obtained at each visit. Satisfaction and potential cost savings were also reviewed. Results UPDRS scores declined over the period of observation, from a range of 18-60 at study start to 28-72 at study end. Actual cost savings are difficult to define; however, the cost per telehealth visit at $117.30 was often lower than the facility's average cost for transporting patients to a visit in the neurologist's office. Patients, families, subspecialists, and the nursing staff expressed uniformly high satisfaction with telehealth. Conclusion This model for providing care proved to be sustainable and efficient, and promoted collaboration among the providers at the long-term care facility and those at the remote site. These benefits may be applicable to patients with degenerative disorders in similar settings.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Remotely delivered assessments for PD patients in care facilities have demonstrated high patient and family satisfaction and cost-effectiveness compared to transporting patients for face-to-face neurologist appointments.
“remotely delivered assessments for PD patients in care facilities have demonstrated high patient and family satisfaction in addition to cost-effectiveness compared to transporting patients for face-to-face neurologist appointments (Barbour et al., 2016”
From Remote delivery of psychological interventions for Parkinson's disease. (2018) · cites this paper as Barbour et al., 2016
Cites
Parkinsonism: onset, progression, and mortality
Hoehn, M. M., & Yahr, M. D. (1967) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.17.5.427 · Cited by 12,107 · cited 1× · see citing works
“provided via telehealth, baseline Hoehn and Yahr scores,[24] and duration of PD prior to study initiation were extracted retrospectively by the neurologist.”
MethodProjected number of people with Parkinson disease in the most populous nations, 2005 through 2030
Dorsey, E. R., Constantinescu, R., Thompson, J. P., Biglan, K., Holloway, R. G., Kieburtz, K. D., Marshall, F. J., Ravina, B. M., Schifitto, G., Siderowf, A. D., et al. (2006) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000247740.47667.03 · Cited by 2,479 · see citing works
The Clinically Important Difference on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale
Shulman, L. M., Gruber‐Baldini, A. L., Anderson, K. E., Fishman, P. S., Reich, S. G., & Weiner, W. J. (2010) · Archives of Neurology · doi:10.1001/archneurol.2009.295 · Cited by 555 · see citing works
The Empirical Foundations of Telemedicine Interventions for Chronic Disease Management
Bashshur, R. L., Shannon, G. W., Smith, B. R., Alverson, D. C., Antoniotti, N., Barsan, W. G., Bashshur, N., Brown, E. M., Coye, M. J., Doarn, C. R., et al. (2014) · Telemedicine and e-Health · doi:10.1089/tmj.2014.9981 · Cited by 452 · see citing works
Detecting and monitoring the symptoms of Parkinson's disease using smartphones: A pilot study
Arora, S., Venkataraman, V., Zhan, A., Donohue, S., Biglan, K. M., Dorsey, E. R., & Little, M. A. (2015) · Parkinsonism & Related Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.parkreldis.2015.02.026 · Cited by 387 · see citing works
Neurologist care in Parkinson disease
Willis, A. W., Schootman, M., Evanoff, B., Perlmutter, J. S., & Racette, B. A. (2011) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e31822c9123 · Cited by 304 · see citing works
The Impact of Telehealthcare on the Quality and Safety of Care: A Systematic Overview
McLean, S., Sheikh, A., Cresswell, K., Nurmatov, U., Mukherjee, M., Hemmi, A., & Pagliari, C. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071238 · Cited by 255 · see citing works
Randomized controlled clinical trial of “virtual house calls” for Parkinson disease
Dorsey, E. R., Venkataraman, V., Grana, M. J., Bull, M. T., George, B. P., Boyd, C. M., Beck, C. A., Rajan, B., Seidmann, A., & Biglan, K. M. (2013) · JAMA Neurology · doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2013.123 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
Constantinescu, G., Theodoros, D., Russell, T., Ward, E., Wilson, S., & Wootton, R. (2011) · International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders · doi:10.3109/13682822.2010.484848 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Dorsey, E. R., Deuel, L. M., Voss, T., Finnigan, K. S., George, B. P., Eason, S., Miller, D. W., Reminick, J. I., Appler, A., Polanowicz, J., et al. (2010) · Movement Disorders · doi:10.1002/mds.23145 · Cited by 184 · see citing works
Demaerschalk, B. M., Miley, M. L., Kiernan, T.-E. J., Bobrow, B. J., Corday, D. A., Wellik, K. E., Aguilar, M. I., Ingall, T. J., Dodick, D. W., Brazdys, K., et al. (2009) · Mayo Clinic Proceedings · doi:10.4065/84.1.53 · Cited by 158 · see citing works
Abdolahi, A., Scoglio, N., Killoran, A., Dorsey, E. R., & Biglan, K. (2012) · Parkinsonism & Related Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.parkreldis.2012.10.008 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Benefits of a Telepsychiatry Consultation Service for Rural Nursing Home Residents
Rabinowitz, T., Murphy, K. M., Amour, J. L., Ricci, M. A., Caputo, M., & Newhouse, P. (2010) · Telemedicine journal and e-health · doi:10.1089/tmj.2009.0088 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Telemedicine for delivery of health care in Parkinson's disease
Samii, A., Ryan‐Dykes, P., Tsukuda, R. A., Zink, C., Franks, R., & Nichol, W. P. (2006) · Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare · doi:10.1258/135763306775321371 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Neurologist-associated reduction in PD-related hospitalizations and health care expenditures
Willis, A. W., Schootman, M., Tran, R., Kung, N. H., Evanoff, B., Perlmutter, J. S., & Racette, B. A. (2012) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.0b013e3182703f92 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Gershon-Cohen, J., & Cooley, A. G. (1950) · Radiology · doi:10.1148/55.4.582 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Association of specialist involvement and quality of care for Parkinson's disease
Cheng, E. M., Swarztrauber, K., Siderowf, A. D., Eisa, M., Lee, M., Vassar, S. D., Jacob, E. L., & Vickrey, B. G. (2007) · Movement Disorders · doi:10.1002/mds.21311 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Telemedicine for the care of nursing home residents with Parkinson's disease
Biglan, K., Voss, T., Deuel, L. M., Miller, D., Eason, S., Fagnano, M., George, B. P., Appler, A., Polanowicz, J., Viti, L., et al. (2009) · Movement Disorders · doi:10.1002/mds.22498 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Telemedicine in Leading US Neurology Departments
George, B. P., Scoglio, N., Reminick, J. I., Rajan, B., Beck, C. A., Seidmann, A. A., Biglan, K., & Dorsey, E. R. (2012) · The Neurohospitalist · doi:10.1177/1941874412450716 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Virtual visits for Parkinson disease
Venkataraman, V., Donohue, S., Biglan, K., Wicks, P. J., & Dorsey, E. R. (2014) · Neurology Clinical Practice · doi:10.1212/01.cpj.0000437937.63347.5a · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Telemedicine for multiple sclerosis patients: assessment using Health Value Compass
Zissman, K., Lejbkowicz, I., & Miller, A. (2011) · Multiple Sclerosis Journal · doi:10.1177/1352458511421918 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Chung‐Do, J. J., Helm, S., Fukuda, M. H., Alicata, D., Nishimura, S. T., & Else, I. R. N. (2012) · Telemedicine Journal and e-Health · doi:10.1089/tmj.2011.0107 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Kahn, E., Sossong, S., Goh, A. C. H., Carpenter, D. M., & Goldstein, S. (2013) · Telemedicine Journal and e-Health · doi:10.1089/tmj.2012.0260 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Evaluation of a telemedical care programme for patients with Parkinson's disease
Marzinzik, F., Wahl, M., Doletschek, C. M., Jugel, C., Rewitzer, C., & Klostermann, F. (2012) · Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare · doi:10.1258/jtt.2012.120105 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Teleneurology: is it really at a distance?
Agarwal, S., & Warburton, E. A. (2011) · Journal of Neurology · doi:10.1007/s00415-011-5920-5 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Telemedicine for clinical management of diabetes – a process analysis of video consultations
Fatehi, F., Gray, L., & Russell, A. (2013) · Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare · doi:10.1177/1357633x13506524 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Telehealth Can Bridge the Gap for Rural, Disabled, and Elderly Patients
Win, A. Z. (2015) · Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2015.01.077 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
The Case for Subspecialization in Neurology: Movement Disorders
Farbman, E. S. (2011) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2011.00022 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Vellata, C., Belli, S., Balsamo, F., Giordano, A., Colombo, R., & Maggioni, G. (2021) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.627999 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
Remote delivery of psychological interventions for Parkinson's disease.
Swalwell, C., Pachana, N. A., & Dissanayaka, N. N. (2018) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610218000340 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
“Furthermore, remotely delivered assessments for PD patients in care facilities have demonstrated high patient and family satisfaction in addition to cost-effectiveness compared to transporting patients for face-to-face neurologist appointments (Barbour et al., 2016).”
BackgroundApplication of telehealth intervention in Parkinson’s disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Chen, Y., Guan, B., Li, Z., Yang, Q., Xu, T., Li, H., & Wu, Q.-Y. (2018) · Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare · doi:10.1177/1357633x18792805 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
A Randomized Crossover Pilot Study of Telemedicine Delivered via iPads in Parkinson’s Disease
Sekimoto, S., Oyama, G., Hatano, T., Sasaki, F., Nakamura, R., Jo, T., Shimo, Y., & Hattori, N. (2019) · Parkinson s Disease · doi:10.1155/2019/9403295 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Goffredo, M., RIN_TR_Group, Baglio, F., Icco, R. D., Proietti, S., Maggioni, G., Turolla, A., Pournajaf, S., Jonsdottir, J., Zeni, F., et al. (2023) · European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine · doi:10.23736/s1973-9087.23.07954-6 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Telemedicine in Movement Disorders: Leçons du COVID‐19
Mulroy, E., Menozzi, E., Lees, A. J., Lynch, T., Lang, A. E., & Bhatia, K. P. (2020) · Movement Disorders · doi:10.1002/mds.28297 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Warmoth, K., Lynch, J. K., Darlington, N., Bunn, F., & Goodman, C. M. (2021) · Age and Ageing · doi:10.1093/ageing/afab279 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Perception of Healthcare Access and Utility of Telehealth Among Parkinson’s Disease Patients
Peacock, D. J. S. J., Baumeister, P., Monaghan, A., Siever, J. E., Yoneda, J. R. K., & Wile, D. J. (2020) · Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences / Journal Canadien des Sciences Neurologiques · doi:10.1017/cjn.2020.99 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Telemedicine in an Academic Movement Disorders Center during COVID-19
Esper, C. D., Scorr, L., Papazian, S., Bartholomew, D., Esper, G. J., & Factor, S. A. (2021) · Journal of Movement Disorders · doi:10.14802/jmd.20099 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Virmani, T., Lotia, M., Glover, A., Pillai, L., Kemp, A. S., Iyer, A., Farmer, P., Syed, S., Larson‐Prior, L. J., & Prior, F. (2022) · Journal of Clinical and Translational Science · doi:10.1017/cts.2022.459 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Telemedicine in Neurology: A Scoping Review of Key Outcomes in Movement Disorders
Houston, E. M., Kennedy, A. G., O'Malley, D., Rabinowitz, T., Rose, G. L., & Boyd, J. T. (2021) · Telemedicine Journal and e-Health · doi:10.1089/tmj.2021.0117 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Ogawa, M., Oyama, G., Sekimoto, S., Hatano, T., & Hattori, N. (2021) · Journal of Movement Disorders · doi:10.14802/jmd.21096 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Enhancing Trial Delivery in Parkinson’s Disease: Qualitative Insights from PD STAT
Kehagia, A. A., North, T., Grose, J., Jeffery, A., Cocking, L., Chapman, R., & Carroll, C. (2022) · Journal of Parkinson s Disease · doi:10.3233/jpd-212987 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Specialty care after transition to long‐term care in nursing home
Ulytė, A., Mehrotra, A., Huskamp, H. A., Grabowski, D. C., & Barnett, M. L. (2022) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/jgs.18129 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
A feasible approach to smart remote health monitoring: Subscription-based model
Kirubakaran, S. J., Gunasekaran, A., Dolly, D. R. J., Jagannath, D. J., & Peter, J. D. (2023) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1150455 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Telemonitoring via Questionnaires Reduces Outpatient Healthcare Consumption in Parkinson's Disease
Wijers, A. A., Hochstenbach, L. M. J., & Tissingh, G. (2021) · Movement Disorders Clinical Practice · doi:10.1002/mdc3.13280 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“It Is Hard Work, But It Is Worth It”
Haahr, A., Østergaard, K., & Kirkevold, M. (2018) · Advances in Nursing Science · doi:10.1097/ans.0000000000000208 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Hanratty, B., Craig, D., Brittain, K., Spilsbury, K., Vines, J., & Wilson, P. M. (2019) · Health Services and Delivery Research · doi:10.3310/hsdr07270 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Fründt, O., Hanff, A.-M. R., Mai, T., Kirchner, C., Mazery, E. B. D., Amouzandeh, A., Buhmann, C., Krüger, R., & Südmeyer, M. (2021) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci12010062 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Zhang, H., Zhou, W., & Zhang, D. “. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19063238 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Sun, M., Tang, F., min, L., Wen, S., Wang, S., & Jiang, H. (2026) · JMIR mhealth and uhealth · doi:10.2196/70994 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
El‐Mallakh, R. S., Belnap, A., Iyer, S. S., Schreiber, J., Matthews, D., Lefler, L., Dees, D., Bott, A., Vanegas‐Arroyave, N., Wolff, A., et al. (2022) · Telemedicine Journal and e-Health · doi:10.1089/tmj.2022.0234 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Rodríguez‐Violante, M., Matuk-Pérez, Y., Cervantes‐Arriaga, A., Ríos-Solís, Y., Abundes‐Corona, A., Daniel, M.-R., Zuazua-Vidal, L., Salinas-Barboza, K., & Río‐Quiñones, M. A. D. (2022) · Neurology India · doi:10.4103/0028-3886.359193 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Current perspectives on the role of telemedicine in the management of Parkinson’s disease
Eisenberg, J. L., Hou, J. G., & Barbour, P. J. (2018) · Smart Homecare Technology and TeleHealth · doi:10.2147/shtt.s152018 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Self-citationCubo, E., Rohani, M., Eissazade, N., García‐Bustillo, Á., Ramírez‐Sanz, J. M., Garrido‐Labrador, J. L., Olivares‐Gil, A., Valiñas‐Sieiro, F., Allende‐Río, M., González‐Santos, J., et al. (2025) · European Journal of Neurology · doi:10.1111/ene.16561 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Barriers to home exercise for patients with Parkinson’s disease: a qualitative study
Wang, Q., Chen, Y., Li, L., Li, C., Li, L., Cao, H., & Yang, H. (2023) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061932 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Rehabilitation activities with tablet (REACT) in Parkinson’s disease
Antoniotti, P., Biscaro, V., Mancini, F., Caprino, M., Tropea, P., & Corbo, M. (2024) · Neurological Sciences · doi:10.1007/s10072-024-07414-x · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Mishra, S., Dhuna, N. A., Lancki, N., Yeh, C., & Larson, D. (2022) · Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare · doi:10.1177/1357633x221146819 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Virmani, T., Pillai, L., Smith, V., Glover, A., Abrams, D., Farmer, P., Syed, S., Spencer, H. J., Kemp, A. S., Barron, K., et al. (2024) · Journal of Clinical and Translational Science · doi:10.1017/cts.2024.498 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Bogin, M. H., Chandra, A., Manggaard, J. M., Thorsteinsdottir, B., Hanson, G. J., & Takahashi, P. Y. (2022) · Mayo Clinic Proceedings Innovations Quality & Outcomes · doi:10.1016/j.mayocpiqo.2022.03.001 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Effect of Telerehabilitation in Parkinson Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Darbandsari, P., Pescatello, L. S., Piscitelli, D., Smith, J. M., Ugolini, A., & Colón-Semenza, C. (2025) · Physical Therapy · doi:10.1093/ptj/pzaf121 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Fründt, O., Hanff, A.-M. R., Mai, T., Warnecke, T., Wellach, I., Eggers, C., van Munster, M., Dodel, R. C., Kirchner, C., Krüger, R., et al. (2022) · DGNeurologie · doi:10.1007/s42451-022-00459-2 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Meta-Analysis on Real-Time Telerehabilitation for Motor Function Recovery in Neurological Disorders
Zheng, C.-S., & Shin, H.-K. (2025) · The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy · doi:10.18857/jkpt.2025.37.5.236 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Televisits for Parkinson’s disease: benefits and barriers
Canoro, V., Giordano, C., Rotolo, M., Barone, P., & Erro, R. (2026) · Journal of Neural Transmission · doi:10.1007/s00702-026-03238-5
- Authors
- Barbour, P. J., Arroyo, J., High, S., Fichera, L. B., Staska-Pier, M. M., & McMahon, M. K.
- Affiliations
- Lehigh Valley Health Network (US)
- Allentown Public Library (US)
- Teledyne FLIR (United States) (US)
- Corresponding author
- Barbour, Peter J.
- Venue
- Hospital Practice
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2016-03-14
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 92-97
- ISSN
- 0018-5809 (ISSN-L)
- 2154-8331
- 2377-1003
- OpenAlex
- W2299909935
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4
- FWCI
- 1.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Hospital Practice (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- This project required no funding.
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes
- Social Sciences › Demography › Technology Use by Older Adults
- Keywords
- Parkinson's disease, telemedicine, long-term care, UPDRS scores, cost reduction, patient satisfaction
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Long-Term Care, Male, Middle Aged, Parkinson Disease, Pennsylvania, Surveys and Questionnaires, Cohort Studies, Patient Satisfaction, Telemedicine, Remote Consultation, Disease Management
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
