Objective To explore the utility of deep brain stimulation (DBS) telemedicine in the management of patients with movement disorders from January 2019 to March 2020, covering the main period of the COVID‐19 outbreak in China. Materials and Methods We obtained data from 40 hospitals around China that employed DBS tele‐programming for their outpatients with Parkinson's disease or dystonia from January 2019 to March 2020. Data were obtained on the number and nature of patients' DBS health care service requests, reasons for their requests, the number of DBS telemedicine sessions subsequently completed, safety issues, and the patients' satisfaction with the DBS tele‐programing parameter adjustments made. Results There were 909 DBS tele‐programming health service requests (from 196 patients) completed during the study period. The results showed: 1) the number of DBS telemedicine sessions requested and the number of patients examined increased during the COVID‐19 outbreak in February and March 2020 when compared with the monthly numbers in 2019; 2) the most common reason for the patients' health service requests was poor symptom control; 3) the most common DBS tele‐programming adjustment made was voltage change; 4) overall, most (89%) DBS tele‐programming adjustment sessions were experienced by the patients as satisfactory; and 5) significant adverse events and unexpected treatment interruptions caused by connection failure or other hardware‐ or software‐related problems did not occur. Conclusions DBS telemedicine could have a unique role to play in maintaining the delivery of DBS treatment and medical care to outpatients with movement disorders during the COVID‐19 pandemic.

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Introduction: DBS is a widely used therapy for PD. There is now a choice between fixed-life implantable pulse generators (IPGs) and rechargeable IPGs, each having advantages and disadvantages. This study aimed to evaluate the preference and satisfaction of Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) who were treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS).Materials and Methods: Two hundred and twenty PD patients were treated with DBS and completed a self-reported questionnaire to assess their long-term satisfaction and experience with the type of battery they had chosen and the key factors affecting these choices. The survey was performed online and double-checked for completeness and accuracy.Results: The median value of the postoperative duration was 18 months. The most popular way for patients to learn about DBS surgery was through media (79/220, 35.9%) including the Internet and television programs. In total, 87.3% of the DBS used rechargeable IPGs (r-IPG). The choice between rechargeable and non-rechargeable IPGs was significantly associated with affordability (χ(1)2 = 19.13, p < 0.001). Interestingly, the feature of remote programming significantly affected patients' choices between domestic and imported brands (χ(1)2 = 16.81, p < 0.001). 87.7% of the patients were satisfied with the stimulating effects as well as the implanted device itself. 40.6% of the patients with r-IPGs felt confident handling devices within 1 week after discharge. More than half of the patients checked their batteries every week. The mean interval for battery recharge was 4.3 days. 57.8% of the patients spent around 1 h recharging, and 71.4% of them recharged the battery independently.Conclusions: Most patients were satisfied with their choice of IPGs. The patients' economic status and the remote programming function of the device were the two most critical factors in their decision. The skill of recharging the IPG was easy to master for most patients.