Serious Shortage of Doctors Affects Parkinson's Disease Patients

Modern technology has made a positive impact on the field of medicine, creating more treatments and increasing the production of pharmaceutical drugs that help various illnesses. However, as much as treatments and medications are needed, the people administering them are needed just as much. Chronic physical disorders like Parkinson's disease need a lot of attention and care from the right people, and doctors and specialists must be fully equipped with the right skills and knowledge to help alleviate the symptoms and diagnose patients properly. A shortage of neurologists and movement disorder specialists seriously affects Parkinson's patients worldwide, and it is imperative now more than ever to realize the importance of these doctors.

Parkinson’s disease is a serious progressive disorder related to movement and is mostly caused by the malfunction or death of the neurons present in the brain that produce the chemical called dopamine.

An individual can cope with the symptoms through medications as well as certain other treatments at the beginning as well as the progressive stage of the disease. Doctors who specialize in this field are well aware of what to look for in such patients and what medicines should be administered to them. But a lack of information or reliance on incorrect information can prove to be devastating  for the individual in the long term, including a higher mortality rate.

There has been a growing concern among professionals in this industry as the number of specialized doctors available to treat Parkinson’s is becoming disproportionate to the number of cases related to the disorder. This gap has been increasing continuously over the past few years as more people are being diagnosed with Parkinson’s in increasing numbers.

Due to this rise, there has been a greater need for neurologists. Unfortunately, this lack can lead to many patients not receiving proper care, or they may be given little care at all from such doctors. The proper authorities need to make a note of the matter and look into resolving this shortage issue. There could be the possibility of more training programs for these specialized doctors or an update to the current approaches in the management of Parkinson’s disease in patients.