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In the treatment guidelines for PD written by Drs. Olanow and Koller and published in the journal Neurology, March 1998, the first category of treatments discussed is nonpharmacological, and under that category the first item described is education. They write: "Education about PD can provide ... a sense of control. ... Patients and families should be referred to PD literature available through the national PD organizations, books written for the lay public, patient/family symposia, and the Internet. ...The well-informed patient is the best advocate for his or her own care." In performing their role as educators, physicians are to provide guidance and recommendations as to what to read, so as to ensure that the information is from reputable sources and of a level and quantity appropriate to patient and family needs at the time, according to Drs. Olanow and Koller. How many neurologists actually do this? How many have read or know of the guidelines, for that matter? Also, half of all PWPs are not even treated by neurologists (I can't recall where I read this). And there are still physicians who want their patients ignorant and compliant or who can't or don't want to spend time on education. A newly-diagnosed PWP probably suspects that there is some organization or support group for PD. Somehow I was able to locate the APDA without my doctor's help and, at the time, without a computer. Now that the computer is on its way to becoming a common information appliance, finding just what you need should be easy, but often it isn't. Type the phrase "Parkinson's disease" into your favorite web browser and you get back 50,000 or more entries. Joan Hartman wrote: > ...now, thanks to list member Phil Tompkins all that info has been put > together in his Index. ... Not quite "all" yet, but many thanks for the plug! If this is unfamiliar to anyone, see http://www.pdindex.com. Needs a bit of work still, but it's getting there. I'm also addressing how to be found among those 50,000! Phil Tompkins Hoboken NJ age 61/dx 1990