Parkinson's disease (PD) primarily affects older adults, who manage their symptoms with complex medicine regimens. A mixed-methods study conducted by Fincher and coworkers evaluated the usefulness and usability of follow-up telehealth medication counseling with a sample of community-based PD patients. Patients taking three or more medications for Parkinson's disease were randomly assigned to the teaching modalities of videophone or telephone. A self-care standardized medication educational session lasting 20 to 30 minutes was conducted, and patient and nurse usefulness of the intervention was evaluated by responses to a 15-question Likert-type scale and elicited comments. Patients' satisfaction with the intervention involved patterns of time, education, and technology. Videophone users were more satisfied with the equipment and counseling. Videophones were considered easy access to supportive, expert neuroscience nurses. Overall, videophone-counseling sessions were significantly more useful than the telephone sessions. Nurses found visualization via videophone significantly more useful for medication and self-management interactions.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER: Videophone proved more effective than telephone only with a group of patients with Parkinson’s disease in improving medication compliance.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A PATIENT: This could be useful approach if more patients had access to videophones. However, the increase in cell phones with video capacity may be alleviating this problem. Telehealth methods that would allow you to interact better with health care personnel is certainly a plus. It is hoped that further research be conducted using this methodology.

L Fincher et al. Using telehealth to educate Parkinson's disease patients about complicated medication regimens. Journal of Gerontology Nursing, 2009;35:16-24.