Development of a database for patients with Parkinson’s disease


By Dr Sara Evans

Issues existed with clinic paperwork, as well as patient safety, difficulty accessing notes for audit work, and recruitment of patients for research projects / developing research projects.

To develop a database for patients with PD we reviewed existing paperwork / team discussion, looked at the IT challenges, did a comparison against national audit standards, and considered ease of use (in a non-clinical setting).


The main advantages of the database are the ease of access (both clinical and for audit purposes), ensuring good adherence with guidelines from national audit, bone health, research potential (recruiting patients for research projects and development of research based on data), and reduced clinic administration.

The disadvantages may be slowing down of the clinic, loss of patient interaction in clinic, ‘clunky’ letter format, IT issues (security and hardware), and rolling out to other potential users.

More Parkinson's Academy Service development Projects

PD Service Development Project
By Christopher Dyer, Advanced Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist in Stroke and Neurology, Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
PD HUB clinic: service evaluation
By Dr Elisabeth Wilson, Neuropalliative Care Fellow, North Bristol NHS Trust
Salisbury Hospital Geriatrician Parkinson’s Team – Re-modelling the outpatient Parkinson’s service
By Emily Scotney, Parkinson's Disease Clinical Specialist, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust
'The things you can't get from the books'

Parkinson's Academy, our original and longest running Academy, houses 20 years of inspirational projects, resources, and evidence for improving outcomes for people with Parkinson's. Led by co-founder and educational director Dr Peter Fletcher, the Academy has a truly collegiate feel and prides itself on delivering 'the things you can't get from books' - a practical learning model which inspires all Neurology Academy courses.