Specialized Staff for the Care of People with Parkinson’s Disease in Germany: An Overview

Abstract

Access to specialized care is essential for people with Parkinson´s disease (PD). Given the growing number of people with PD and the lack of general practitioners and neurologists, particularly in rural areas in Germany, specialized PD staff (PDS), such as PD nurse specialists and Parkinson Assistants (PASS), will play an increasingly important role in the care of people with PD over the coming years. PDS have several tasks, such as having a role as an educator or adviser for other health professionals or an advocate for people with PD to represent and justify their needs. PD nurse specialists have been established for a long time in the Netherlands, England, the USA, and Scandinavia. In contrast, in Germany, distinct PDS models and projects have been established. However, these projects and models show substantial heterogeneity in terms of access requirements, education, theoretical and practical skills, principal workplace (inpatient vs. outpatient), and reimbursement. This review provides an overview of the existing forms and regional models for PDS in Germany. PDS reimbursement concepts must be established that will foster an implementation throughout Germany. Additionally, development of professional roles in nursing and more specialized care in Germany is needed.

Moving towards Integrated and Personalized Care in Parkinson’s Disease: A Framework Proposal for Training Parkinson Nurses

“…This would enable nurse students to better understand PD and prepare them to be empowered nursing advocates for PwPs in inpatient and outpatient settings. For countries, where the profession of PN is less well developed, such as Germany [ 7 , 95 ] the framework may be fully implemented and also be utilized to build an agenda for future research on how the role of PN can be strengthened.…”

“…When implementing the framework into pratice, one might face challenges and barriers. In some countries, the PN has been an integral part of the multidisciplinary care team for a long time [ 96 ], while in others PN are not present in every care team [ 7 , 17 ]. Also, it is necessary to clarify funding issues for implementing the framework and hire staff, such as experienced PN, to deliver the framework.…”

“…Also, it is necessary to clarify funding issues for implementing the framework and hire staff, such as experienced PN, to deliver the framework. Additionally the lack in certification of such training could be another barrier [ 7 ]. However, the framework introduced here may represent an crucial step towards a universal consensus on certification.…”

“…A key aspect for personalizing care services, is the availability of specialized staff [3]. Among these healthcare professionals, Parkinson Nurses (PN) can accomplish important tasks in the care process, such as providing mental health support, monitoring symptom progression and promoting patient navigation through the local healthcare system [3,6,7]. There has not been a consensus on defining the PN, but following Parkinsons UK, a PN can " .…”

“…A key aspect for personalizing care services, is the availability of specialized staff [ 3 ]. Among these healthcare professionals, Parkinson Nurses (PN) can accomplish important tasks in the care process, such as providing mental health support, monitoring symptom progression and promoting patient navigation through the local healthcare system [ 3 , 6 , 7 ]. There has not been a consensus on defining the PN, but following Parkinsons UK, a PN can “…provide expert care because they only work with people with the condition.” They describe the major role of a PN in providing care as whilst “…helping people to manage their medication” [ 8 ], the provided care by a PN will result in less side effects.…”