My PD Story

My path to becoming a movement disorders specialist (a neurologist with specialized training) has not been a straight line. I started as an engineering student, fascinated by how the brain controls movement. Early research on eye movements drew me to neurology and led me to explore how technology could help solve problems for patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD).

During my training, I realized that to understand movement, I needed to learn from both neurologists and physical therapists. Those relationships shaped the first decade of my career and continue to influence how I care for patients.

Then, a second passion emerged. I wanted to understand how technology can help us deliver better care. At the University of California, Los Angeles, I became involved in a group of physicians committed to adopting electronic health records and found myself enjoying the work at the intersection of clinical care and health information systems.

Today, I serve as the Clinical Informatics fellowship director at Northwestern Medicine Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center, a Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence, helping physicians learn how to maximize value from electronic health record systems to improve patient care.

My two interests merged when I began working with the Parkinson’s Foundation more than a decade ago. What started as a small involvement grew into a national effort to improve hospital safety for people with PD. This work brings together the Foundation, Epic — one of the largest electronic health record companies — and a committed group of physicians and patient advocates.

One of the most meaningful achievements has been adding Parkinson’s‑specific hospital safety features into Epic:

• When a patient with PD is admitted to a hospital that uses Epic, a flag alerts the care team
• With one click on this alert, care team members can open a link to Parkinson’s Foundation Hospital Safety Guide for recommendations on medication timing, medications to avoid, mobility needs and more.
• The patient’s neurologists can receive an automatic notification if their patient is admitted.
• Standardized reports help hospitals identify patients at risk, track medication timing and recognize those who may need extra support during their stay.

Recently, we reached a breakthrough. Neurologists can now prescribe exact medication times in outpatient visits, and those schedules automatically carry over to inpatient and discharge plans.

This change may seem small, but it solves one of the most common and critical issues people with PD face in the hospital: receiving medications on time, every time.

Through the Parkinson’s Foundation Hospital Care Learning Collaborative, we work with other health care systems across the country on quality improvement efforts to improve hospital safety using these tools.

Our goal is simple but ambitious: to ensure every person with Parkinson’s receives safe, informed and consistent care, no matter where they are hospitalized.

For patients and families, I recommend downloading the Hospital Safety Guide. Bring it with you to the hospital and call your neurologist whenever you are admitted. These small steps, along with broader improvements in health systems, can make a real difference.

Together with patients, caregivers, clinicians and partners nationwide, we are building a safer and smarter future for Parkinson’s care.

Advocate for your best care with the Hospital Safety Guide. Download or order the guide today.