Good news for Parkinson’s patients: a multidisciplinary clinic specializing in movement disorders has opened its doors at the Meir Medical Center of the Clalit Group. This is a unique clinical model in Israel. At each visit, patients will receive care and treatment from a multidisciplinary professional team who will see the patient in one centralized visit instead of multiple visits to each specialist at different times for individual examination.
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic degenerative neurological disease that manifests with a variety of symptoms related to the motor and other systems. Movement disorders include tremors, stiffness, general slowness and gait disturbances, unsteadiness up to falling. Additionally, damage to other systems can occur, leading to mood changes, primarily depression and anxiety, cognitive decline, speech and swallowing difficulties, constipation, lack of control over urination and sleep quality disorders.
Due to the wide variety of symptoms, a significant proportion of patients require treatment by a multidisciplinary team including a neurologist specializing in movement disorders, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist, a social worker and a nutritionist. Treatment under the supervision of a team of therapists allows you to optimally solve all the problems caused by the disease.
The treatment of the disease includes drug and non-drug methods that correct the symptoms of the disease and improve the patient’s quality of life.
“The need to examine and assess patients by a large number of medical personnel makes life difficult for them, especially for those who suffer from reduced mobility. As a result, patients are not performing the recommended check-ups, which affects the effectiveness of treatment,” explain Dr. Meir Kestenbaum, Head of the Movement Disorders Clinic, and Dr. Nirit Lev, Head of Neurology at the Meir Medical Center, Clalit Group. “At the Movement Disorders Clinic of Meir Hospital, we are launching a new centralized treatment service with a multidisciplinary team.”
The service includes 8 weekly appointments lasting approximately 4.5 hours during which the patient will be examined by a neurologist, meet with a nurse from the Movement Disorders Clinic and be examined by a physiotherapist, speech therapist and occupational therapist to assess and treat motor, cognitive and functional disorders. speech and swallowing disorders.
“Through continuous and comprehensive assessment and treatment by a multidisciplinary team, it will be possible to improve and adapt treatment to the individual needs of patients better than with an individual assessment of each health professional”, explain the Dr. Kestenbaum and Dr. Lev. “The patient will also receive tools to cope with the disease in the form of exercises and advice to adapt at home to the current stage of the disease. In addition, this clinic model greatly increases the comfort of the patient and his family members, who will only need to come to the clinic once instead of several visits to different specialists at different times.
Avner Shabtai, Senior Coordinator of Physiotherapy and Neurology, adds: “Physiotherapy is an integral part of the comprehensive treatment of the Parkinson’s department and is designed to help manage the movement limitations of the disease, namely slow , stiffness and stagnation when walking, and to improve the daily functioning of the patient. ”
The service will be provided to patients of all HMOs diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease after being screened at least once at Meir Hospital’s Mobility Disorders Clinic. This treatment model using a multidisciplinary team within a centralized visit does not exist in Israel and is an integral part of the medical center’s ongoing commitment to providing comprehensive treatment with an individual approach to the patient’s various medical issues. This service is expected to help reduce complications of the disease, including fewer falls, fractures, hospitalizations, swallowing disorder complications, cognitive decline complications, and more.
