NEW YORK (PRWEB)
November 18, 2020

The American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) launches today a new and improved APDA Symptom Tracker App 2.0 – a highly-specialized mobile application for people living with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The updated version remains free of charge and features enhanced functionality which will significantly improve the ability of a person with Parkinson’s disease (PD) to easily and accurately track their PD symptoms and medications, and relay that important information to members of their medical team; with the ultimate goal of receiving better, more personalized care. A Spanish-language version of the app is now available as well, which enables a much larger audience to take advantage of this technology and builds upon APDA’s commitment to better serve and support under-represented PD communities.

With a mission to help everyone impacted by PD live life to the fullest, APDA originally developed the APDA Symptom Tracker App in 2019 as an important tool to help people play a more active role in their PD care. After a year of user feedback and continued research, the APDA app has now been significantly upgraded with features that make it even more useful as part of an integrated PD care plan. The development of this app and its upgrades were made possible by generous financial support from Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc.

The APDA Symptom Tracker App 2.0 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 (hallucinations, delusions, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and others) are affecting them. It then creates a graph indicating 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.

The improved APDA Symptom Tracker App 2.0 boasts the following new features:

• 
  An interactive medication tracker where you can enter the specific medications/doses and the time of day you take them which helps identify opportunities for better symptom management (medication dosage/timing is an incredibly specific and often tricky aspect of life with PD)
• Helpful notifications and reminders including:

             reminders to enter symptom data into the app

             push notifications about helpful education programs and updates on treatments

             reminders to share information with the clinician prior to appointments

• A Spanish-language version that has been fully created for and by Spanish-speaking people (not simply translated from the English version)

These newly-added features are important because 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, and the timing of their medication, 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, or if they missed a medication dose.

“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. “And now if they track their medications with the app as well, it will help me see possible correlations between dosing and their symptoms. The upgraded APDA Symptom Tracker App benefits not only the patient, but it helps 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.

“Acadia is pleased to support the development of the APDA Symptom Tracker as a helpful tool for patients, caregivers and providers to keep track of motor and non-motor symptoms associated with Parkinson’s,” said Ponni Subbiah, M.D., M.P.H., Senior Vice President, Global Head of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at Acadia. “With the features of this latest release, which includes a Spanish-language version of the app, we hope to broaden the reach of this important resource for the PD community.”

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.

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 $207 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.

Media Contact: Eloise Caggiano, ecaggiano@apdaparkinson.org, 718-981-2950

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