People with Parkinson's Disease (PD) Face Disproportionate Rates of Harm in Hospital Setting

Parkinson's Foundation Issues Hospital Care Standards to Avoid Preventable Harm

NEW YORK and MIAMI, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Parkinson's Foundation published a new article in the December issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety titled "Protecting Parkinson's Patients: Hospital Care Standards to Avoid Preventable Harm." The article identifies sustainable solutions to improve care in the hospital for people with Parkinson's disease (PD) and details how these solutions may be generalized to develop a practical, disease-agnostic care model for all hospital and health systems that wish to avoid preventable harm. 

Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the United States, and its prevalence only continues to grow as the population ages. People with PD are at increased risk of hospitalization, with more than 300,000 people with PD hospitalized each year. While hospitalized, people with PD face increased risk of preventable harm, including longer hospital stays and deterioration of PD symptoms. Adverse outcomes range from temporary, such as higher rates of delirium, to permanent damage, including higher mortality.

"At the Foundation, we understand that these rising numbers and the significant negative impact on health outcomes, underscore the critical need to heighten awareness of this problem, advance overall patient safety and create solutions to improve the lives of people living with PD," said John Lehr, president and CEO of the Parkinson's Foundation.

The solutions in the article are based on the Parkinson's Foundation Hospital Care Recommendations, developed by the Parkinson's Foundation in collaboration with Manatt Health and an expert panel including Dr. Peter Pronovost and clinical and quality improvement leaders from the University of Florida Health, Hackensack Meridian Health and Henry Ford Health. The evidence supporting the Recommendations continues to grow through the efforts of the Parkinson's Foundation and members of its Hospital Care Learning Collaborative.

There is growing consensus on effective and sustainable solutions that hospitals can implement to avoid preventable harm among PD patients. The Parkinson's Foundation Hospital Care Recommendations establish five hospital care standards:

1. All PD medications are ordered in a custom fashion according to patients' at-home regimen.
    
2. All PD medications are administered within 15 minutes of patients' at-home regimen, 100% of the time.
    
3. Potentially harmful medication events are eliminated, particularly for dopamine-blocking medications, agents for pain and sedatives.
    
4. All people with PD should mobilize three times a day if clinically appropriate and under professional supervision if necessary.
    
5. All people with PD should undergo screening for dysphagia within 24 hours, with measures taken to minimize the risk of aspiration pneumonia, as needed.

"This article reveals that we have a fundamental obligation to ensure that the patients facing the greatest risk in the hospital are safe, such as those with PD who face disproportionate rates of preventable and unintended harm," said Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, FCCM, lead author and Chief Quality and Transformation Officer at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. "For patients living with Parkinson's, the Recommendations represent an invaluable, practical care model for all hospitals and health systems."

In late 2023, the Parkinson's Foundation launched a Hospital Care Learning Collaborative, comprised of more than two dozen hospitals and health systems that are committed to sharing, implementing, testing and refining best practices outlined in the Recommendations. A second, expanded cohort of the Learning Collaborative will begin in early 2025.

Despite growing consensus on these Recommendations, hospitals and health systems face knowledge and resource constraints that limit successful implementation. Inconsistent policies and limited understanding of the medication needs of people with PD lead to complications and poorer health outcomes, resulting in more expensive hospital and emergency room care and, ultimately, costing the U.S. healthcare system $7.19 billion annually.

"These Recommendations published by the Parkinson's Foundation can quite literally mean the difference between life and death for someone like me," said Cindy Finestone, who lives with Parkinson's disease and recently suffered complications from a near fatal medication interaction following an in-hospital routine surgery. "Even if you think you've done all the right things to arrive at the hospital completely prepared, you just don't realize how bad things can be until it happens to you."

To learn more about the Parkinson's Foundation Hospital Care Initiative and its resources, such as the Parkinson's Foundation Hospital Safety Guide, Hospital Care Recommendations, the Hospital Care Learning Collaborative and hospital care continuing education courses, visit Parkinson.org/HospitalCare.

About the Parkinson's Foundation
The Parkinson's Foundation makes life better for people with Parkinson's disease by improving care and advancing research toward a cure. In everything we do, we build on the energy, experience and passion of our global Parkinson's community. Since 1957, the Parkinson's Foundation has invested more than $449 million in Parkinson's research and clinical care. Connect with us on Parkinson.org, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or call 1-800-4PD-INFO (1-800-473-4636).

About Parkinson's Disease
Affecting an estimated one million Americans and 10 million worldwide, Parkinson's disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's and is the 14th-leading cause of death in the U.S. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression), as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for Parkinson's and 90,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the U.S. alone.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Melissa Nobles Gonzalez
Parkinson's Foundation
[email protected]
305.537.9134

SOURCE Parkinson's Foundation