Little analysis has been done of demographical and practical data for the Parkinson’s population nationally, let alone in Washington. This means our healthcare system has yet to track whether, how much, or what type of care patients living with Parkinson’s receive on an annual basis. Debby Tsuang, MD, in collaboration with Melissa Tribelhorn, MPA, Executive Director of the Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation, and Cyrus Zabetian, MD, MS, UW Professor of Neurology and an investigator in the Parkinson’s Disease and Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Centers of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, are conducting a pilot study to help patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s live healthier and longer lives while reducing costs to the healthcare system as a whole.

The pilot will begin with a study of the Medicare database to determine how ethnic/racial groups in Washington State differ in the proportion of people who have a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, are being treated for the disease, and see a specialist. The program will then look at how to target underserved communities and help them better access specialist care and community services such as those provided by Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation. The project is funded by Washington State Legislature.