Pharmacy Matters: Online resources to help treat Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson Society Canada has launched its first online training module for health care professionals. The free online module – accredited by the College of Family Physicians of Canada – provides health care professionals with case examples to build their knowledge and expertise around consistently identifying, treating and managing their Parkinson’s patients.

The online training module is interactive as well. “Participants can pose questions about the module content and receive guidance from medical experts,” said Grace Ferrari, National Manager, Professional and Public Education, Parkinson Society Canada in a statement.

The online resource expands upon the existing educational tools available for Parkinson’s disease, notably the Canadian Guidelines on Parkinson’s Disease. This resource was published in 2012 and is available at www.parkinsonclinicalguidelines.ca. It is estimated that roughly 100,000 Canadians live with Parkinson’s disease.

To access the online training module, please visit www.parkinsonclinicalguidelines.ca/education.

Feedback on these educational resources is encouraged – clinicians can share their thoughts through an online survey available at www.ParkinsonClinicalGuidelines.ca.

Parkinson’s Disease Guidelines for Pharmacists

Pharmacists play a key role in the management of Parkinson’s disease. In order to promote awareness of a pharmacist’s contributions to a Parkinson’s patient care, the Parkinson Guidelines for Pharmacists was published in Spring 2014.

Authored by Tejal Patel, BScPhm, PharmD and Feng Chang, BScPhm, PharmD, in collaboration with Parkinson Society Canada, the guidelines offer recommendations specifically targeted towards pharmacists.

The recommendations are categorized into the following four sections: