WeHealth

Did you know that half (50%) of persons with Parkinson's do not discuss the impact of Parkinson's on their driving ability w/ their healthcare teams? WOW! Why are we not continuously engaging folks from the time of diagnosis? Marjan Meinders and colleagues @MDCP_Journal tackle this issue. Key Points: - This team was interested in how the diagnosis of Parkinson's affects 'the possession of a driving license, how people adapted driving style, and to what extent they had communicated about their driving ability with their healthcare professionals.' - 10-item survey. - 540 folks in the study. - 84% had a valid driving license. - 78% who gave up their license did it voluntarily. - 40% adjusted their driving style. - ~50% not discussed the impact w/ healthcare professional(s). My take: Discussions about driving are hard. Losing a driver's license is traumatic. In my view, many healthcare professionals avoid the discussions and wait too long until a crisis or accident occurs. We are kicking the can down the road! What would be a better path? How about continuous discussions (over years). Ideally these discussions would not be rushed. Ideally we involved occupational therapists and rehabilitation teams. Ideally, we would be helping people to more safely drive earlier in the disease and continuously checking in with them. Maybe I just live in an ideal world but I believe we can do a better job. movementdisorders.onlinelibr… #Parkinsons