American Parkinson Disease Association Launches Symptom Tracker Mobile App

User-Friendly App Helps People with Parkinson's Disease Track Their Symptoms and Communicate With Their Healthcare Team for Better Care

NEW YORK (PRWEB) May 01, 2019

The American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) launches today a brand new, highly-specialized mobile application for people living with Parkinson's disease (PD) to help them get better and more personalized care. With a mission to help everyone impacted by PD live life to the fullest, APDA developed the APDA Symptom Tracker App to serve as an important tool to help people play a more active role in their care. The app is available today for Apple iOS (Apple's App Store) and Android (Google Play) environments.

Everyone experiences PD differently, and symptoms can vary greatly day by day. The more specific someone can be with their health care team about the types of symptoms they're experiencing, the better the doctor(s) can tailor a treatment plan specifically for each person. But it can be hard for people to remember how certain symptoms have or have not affected them since the last time they connected with their health care team. Noting this challenge, APDA developed a new mobile phone app to make it easy to keep track of symptoms frequently and more accurately, and share that information with the medical professionals who are providing their care.

The free APDA Symptom Tracker App guides people through a simple set of questions that has them rate how certain motor symptoms (such as tremor, rigidity, balance) and non-motor symptoms (fatigue, anxiety, depression, and others) are affecting them. It then creates a simple graph to indicate which symptoms are most impacting their quality of life in which can be saved in the "My Library" section of the app, and can also be emailed directly to members of their health care team, right from the app. Over time, people can compare the results to see if certain symptoms are getting worse, and determine which symptoms need to be addressed more urgently than others.

"As a movement disorder specialist, the more my patients can tell me about their symptoms, the more I can help them. I can see how they're feeling at that one moment, but to be able to see on a chart how they've been feeling at other times since I last saw them would be hugely beneficial for me," states Rebecca Gilbert, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, APDA. "I love when my patients come prepared with questions and want to learn more about their disease and how to live their best life. The APDA Symptom Tracker App will be a useful tool that will benefit not only the patient, but it will help me as their doctor."

The APDA Symptom Tracker also has a special "Questions for the Doctor" feature that generates a list of suggested follow-up items for people to review with their doctor about symptoms and concerns they are currently experiencing, but also about preventative care. This will help them be more proactive in managing their PD. They can bring a printout of the questions to their appointment so they don't forget to ask any that are important to them. The app also features a useful list of resources that connects them directly to a wealth of quality, credible PD information.

The APDA Symptom Tracker App can help people have more meaningful conversations with their healthcare team and better manage their disease. The app can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

The development of this app was made possible by generous support from Acadia Pharmaceuticals.

About the American Parkinson Disease Association:
The American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) is the largest grassroots network dedicated to fighting Parkinson's disease (PD) and works tirelessly to help the more than 1 million Americans with PD live life to the fullest in the face of this chronic, neurological disorder. Founded in 1961, APDA has raised and invested more than $185 million to provide outstanding patient services and educational programs, elevate public awareness about the disease, and support research designed to unlock the mysteries of PD and ultimately put an end to this disease. To join us in the fight against Parkinson's disease and to learn more about the support APDA provides nationally through our network of Chapters and Information & Referral (I&R) Centers, as well as our national Research Program and Centers for Advanced Research, please visit us at http://www.apdaparkinson.org.

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