New APDA Tracker App 2.0 Easier and More Detailed in English and in Spanish

An upgrade to the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) Symptom Tracker App, available to patients and caregivers at no cost, includes improvements to make for an easier and more detailed user experience and a Spanish language version.

The mobile app, first released last year, was developed to help people with Parkinson’s play a more active role in disease management.

Its new version, called the APDA Symptom Tracker App 2.0, came in response to user feedback, and patients’ expressed need to more easily and accurately track their symptoms and medications. It can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Through a series of questions, users can rate how certain Parkinson’s motor and non-motor symptoms are affecting them at any given time. The tool then generates a graphic indicating which symptoms are most affecting a person’s quality of life. This chart can be saved in the app’s “My Library” section, and can also be sent directly by email to the patient’s healthcare team.

Results collected over time can help in determining whether certain symptoms are worsening, and which symptoms should be prioritized for treatment.

“As a movement disorder specialist, the more my patients 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,” Rebecca Gilbert, MD, PhD, the APDA’s chief scientific officer, said in a press release.

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

New app features include an interactive medication tracker that allows patients or caregivers to enter treatments in use, their doses, and the time of day each is taken. This helps to identify opportunities for better symptom management, since medication dosing and timing are important and can be difficult to optimally adjust in Parkinson’s.

Also new are reminders to enter symptom data and to share that information with clinicians before appointments, helping to ensure more meaningful conversations with healthcare teams.

A “Questions for the Doctor” feature offers suggested discussion topics about symptoms and concerns, as well as preventative measures. Patients can print out the questions to take to appointment.

The app can also send push notifications about educational programs and treatment updates, and features a list of resources for disease information.

Lastly, a Spanish-language app version has been created to better serve and support under-represented Parkinson’s communities.

App upgrades were sponsored by Acadia Pharmaceuticals, whose treatments for central nervous system diseases such as Parkinson’s include Nuplazid.

“With the features of this latest release … we hope to broaden the reach of this important resource for the PD community,” said Ponni Subbiah, MD, a senior vice president, global head of medical affairs and chief medical officer for Acadia.