New National Agenda Paves the Way for Improved Parkinson’s Care

First-Ever National Roundtable Prioritizes Parkinson’s Disease Care Solutions and Policy Reform

NEW YORK & MIAMI (February 24, 2026) — The Parkinson's Foundation released Parkinson’s Care and Innovation: A Patient-Centered Agenda for Change, the first national strategy to transform Parkinson’s disease (PD) care. It represents the culmination of the National Roundtable on Parkinson’s Care and Innovation, a first-of-its-kind convening of 20 interdisciplinary health care, policy, technology, and industry professionals, including former federal agency leaders, movement disorder specialists, med tech founders, nurses, rehabilitation professionals, disease advocacy organizations, and people with Parkinson’s.

“The four care priorities identified at the Roundtable are not one-size-fits-all solutions, but reflect the nuances of living with PD. Those priorities require practical, actionable steps to strengthen Parkinson’s care, improve coordination among providers, and ensure that people with Parkinson’s receive the support they need to live well,” said Chief Medical Officer of the Parkinson’s Foundation, Sneha Mantri, MD, MS, FAAN.

The four priorities were achieved through consensus and address the most pressing challenges in PD care. Their corresponding solutions are grounded in evidence-based best practices and the lived experience of people with PD and their care partners. Each solution includes short- and long-term actions to transform PD care:

1. Build Community Clinician Capability to deliver high-quality Parkinson’s care and address specialty workforce shortages by leveraging movement disorder expertise, training, and education (hub-and-spoke model).
2. Develop a Sustainable, Integrated Care Model that improves care coordination, patient outcomes, and access to essential Parkinson’s services through a team-based model that addresses the needs of people with Parkinson’s and their care partners.
3. Define the Minimum Clinical Dataset to support care coordination across settings for people with PD, care partners, and healthcare professionals.
4. Prioritize Patient-Centered Technologies that are clinically relevant, scalable, and backed by a strong business case.

The four priorities for PD care are critical as the prevalence of PD continues to rise, workforce shortages increase, and the federal government prepares to implement the National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act through the convening of the Advisory Council on Parkinson’s Research, Care and Services. The Parkinson’s Foundation recommends that the Advisory Council use the Roundtable’s agenda to develop the first federal plan to end Parkinson’s.

“This agenda makes clear that for progress to occur in improving Parkinson’s care, we need corresponding policy action, including improved provider reimbursement policies, telehealth coverage, licensure flexibility across state lines, and tighter FDA-CMS coordination to prevent coverage delays,” said Andi Lipstein Fristedt, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Policy Officer for the Parkinson’s Foundation. “These changes will require coordinated action from federal and state policy leaders to ensure timely, high-quality, and patient-centered care.”

The Parkinson’s Foundation is dedicated to collaborating across sectors with key stakeholders to advance these priorities and ensure every person with PD receives the highest quality care. At every step, the Foundation will rely on the experiences and voices of those living with Parkinson's and their care partners.

To read more insights from the Parkinson’s Foundation National Roundtable on Parkinson’s Care and Innovation, explore the Parkinson's Care and Innovation: A Patient-Centered Agenda for Change.