Moving Forward from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Needed Changes in Movement Disorders Care and Research.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected the health and well-being of individuals with movement disorders. This manuscript reviews these effects, discusses pandemic-related changes in clinical care and research, and suggests improvements to care and research models. RECENT FINDINGS: During the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, individuals with movement disorders have experienced worsening of symptoms, likely due to decreased access to care, loss of social connection, and decreased physical activity. Through telemedicine, care has moved out of the clinic and into the home. Clinical research has also been significantly disrupted, and there has been a shift to decentralized approaches. The pandemic has highlighted disparities in access to care and representation in research. We must now translate these experiences into better care and research models with a focus on equitable integration of telemedicine, better support of patients and caregivers, the development of meaningful digital endpoints, and optimization of decentralized research designs.