New Software Tool Aids Early Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease Psychosis

PointClickCare has developed a new software tool to aid in the early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease psychosis.

The tool, developed in partnership with the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP), is programmed to ask patients a series of questions regarding hallucinations and/or delusions. Based on the responses, senior care providers may then engage in a conversation to collect more information and to design a care plan to manage the symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease psychosis.

The Parkinson’s psychosis screener is available to all who wish to take part in PointClickCare’s free clinical content offer. More information is available here.

“Not only will the screener tool better enable faster diagnosis, it will provide the senior care industry with a consistent way of approaching Parkinson’s Psychosis,” Bill Stuart, clinical product strategist at PointClickCare, said in a press release.

“At PointClickCare, we understand the industry needs a standard approach to care by delivering standardized content that ultimately leads to standard data. Standard data is the only way to look across facilities to identify trends that can potentially provide new workflows and/or lead to new treatments,” he said.

Parkinson’s disease psychosis, a non-motor symptom of Parkinson’s, is often misdiagnosed.

Psychosis is the term used when Parkinson’s patients experience hallucinations and delusions. While hallucinations are more likely to occur in the later stages of Parkinson’s disease, younger and newly diagnosed patients also may experience them.

Manifestations of psychosis often appear at night when caregivers are unaware of such symptoms. As a result, patients often are prescribed antipsychotic medications that are not adequate, with the underlying cause of their symptoms remaining undiagnosed.

Besides aiding in the early diagnosis of psychosis among older patients, the data collected via the Parkinson’s psychosis screener will be integrated in PointClickCare’s Lighthouse initiative, a platform where data is shared to boost scientific research on Parkinson’s psychosis, among other topics.

“Parkinson’s Psychosis impacts many older people worldwide, and we’re thrilled to play a role in enabling earlier detection so that patients can receive the treatment they need sooner,” said Chad Worz, board certified geriatric pharmacist, and chief executive of ASCP.

“We are excited to have another tool for care teams to facilitate a more standardized care process for Parkinson’s Disease and we are excited for the role that pharmacists play in this process,” Worz said.