MIAMI & NEW YORK – October 6, 2020 – The Parkinson’s Foundation today announced a collaboration with Amazon’s Alexa to help more people gain access to education and resources related to Parkinson’s disease (PD) in English and Spanish. Alexa is Amazon’s cloud-based voice service available on Amazon Echo devices and third-party devices with Alexa built in. Alexa-enabled devices will now answer questions about Parkinson’s disease citing sources directly from the Parkinson’s Foundation.
“We are thrilled to work with Amazon to move into this exciting world of smart speakers to help even more people gain access to the information about PD they need most,” said John L. Lehr, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Parkinson’s Foundation. “Our hope is that this partnership will help us further reach and better support the PD community throughout every stage of their journey.”
This integration will improve Alexa’s answers about Parkinson’s to better serve people with the disease, their care partners, friends and family members, health professionals and others seeking information or resources. Alexa will be able to answer questions related to Parkinson’s disease directly from Parkinson’s Foundation webpages including key topics like COVID-19 and PD, symptoms and early signs, treatment options, information for the newly diagnosed and more. Questions include ‘Alexa, what is a good resource for Parkinson’s disease’ or ‘Alexa, what should I know about Parkinson’s disease and the coronavirus?’ among others that will share information from the Foundation’s database of resources.
For more information about Amazon’s Alexa visit the Amazon Alexa webpage. Learn more about the Parkinson’s Foundation and Parkinson’s disease at Parkinson.org or call 1-800-4PD-INFO (473-4636).
