Being diagnosed with Parkinson’s can be daunting, but knowing which allied health professionals and medical supports and services you need to maintain your quality of life doesn’t have to be. In addition to your friends, family and carers, we recommend getting a specialist multidisciplinary care team together as soon as possible.
What is a care team?
Your specialist care team may include at a minimum your General Practitioner (GP), neurologist, geriatrician, and a Parkinson’s Nurse Specialist. It has been proven that individualised care team specialists can dramatically increase your wellbeing and help maintain a better quality of life. Parkinson’s affects many parts of your daily living, so having a professional that can help you build capacity and maintain your goals can keep you well for longer. Depending on what services are available to you, you could include a:
- (neuro-) physiotherapist (PT)
- exercise physiologist (EP)
- occupational therapist (OT)
- speech pathologist
- (neuro-) urologist
- continence specialist
- mental health professional (e.g. psychiatrist, psychologist, wellbeing counsellor)
- dietitian.
Why should I get a team together early?
All people with Parkinson’s are different and may have quite variable trajectories in their symptoms’ progression. One thing you can do to help maintain your quality of life is to get early assessments and start early intervention therapies even if you are still working. For help with increasing costs of managing Parkinson’s, you should also look at applying for an NDIS plan and ask your GP about a Chronic Disease Management Plan or Mental Health Plan to access some of these allied health supports at subsidised fees.
Where can I look for care team members?
Refer to allied health therapy peak bodies in Australia to find one suitable for your situation and location, or arrange telehealth options. For example:
- Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) find-a-physio
- Australian Podiatry Association (APA) /find-a-podiatrist
- Australian Psychological Society (APS) find-a-psychologist
- Continence Foundation Australia
- Dietitians Australia Find-a-Dietitian
- Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA) find-a-exercise-physiologist
- Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA)/find-an-ot
- Parkinson’s Nurse Specialists: It’s best to ring the infoline on 1800 644 189 in the state or territory you are wanting to be connected to services in or ask your GP for a referral to a nurse that specialises in Parkinson’s.
- Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) Find-a-Speech-Pathologist
References:
Goldman, J. G., Volpe, D., Ellis, T. D., Hirsch, M. A., Johnson, J., Wood, J., Aragon, A., Biundo, R., Di Rocco, A., Kasman, G. S., Iansek, R., Miyasaki, J., McConvey, V. M., Munneke, M., Pinto, S., St Clair, K. A., Toledo, S., York, M. K., Todaro, R., Yarab, N., … Wallock, K. (2024). Delivering Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation Care in Parkinson’s Disease: An International Consensus Statement. Journal of Parkinson’s disease, 14 (1), 135–166. https://doi.org/10.3233/JPD-230117
Pirtošek, Z. Breaking barriers in Parkinson’s care: the multidisciplinary team approach. J Neural Transm 131, 1349–1361 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-024-02843-6
van Halteren, A. D., Munneke, M., Smit, E., Thomas, S., Bloem, B. R., & Darweesh, S. K. L. (2020). Personalized Care Management for Persons with Parkinson’s Disease. Journal of Parkinson’s disease, 10(s1), S11–S20. https://doi.org/10.3233/JPD-202126
Weise, D., Claus, I., Dresel, C. et al. Multidisciplinary care in Parkinson’s disease. J Neural Transm 131, 1217–1227 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-024-02807-w
