2026-05-31T22:17:58Zhttps://riubu.ubu.es/oai/request

oai:riubu.ubu.es:10259/116072026-05-15T11:45:27Zcom_10259_4219com_10259_5086com_10259_2604col_10259_4220

The Feasibility and Practical Utility of Virtual Visits for Patients with Parkinson's Disease in Different World Regions García Bustillo, Álvaro Youn, Jinyoung Ahn, Jong Hyeon Ojo, Oluwadamilola Okubadejo, Njideka Aldaajani, Zakiyah Essam, Mohamed Shalash, Ali Cardozo, Adriana Spindler, Meredith Mari, Zoltan Cubo Delgado, Esther Telemedicine Parkinson's disease Multidisciplinary team Background: Overcoming existing access barriers is crucial for better-specialized health care ofpatients with Parkinson’s disease (PD).ObjectiveObjective: The aim of the study was to compare the access and visit quality/acceptability between in-office andvirtual telemedicine visits.MethodsMethods: This was an international, randomized, case-control, prospective, observational study. Patients wererandomly assigned either to the control group (in-person/in-office visits at baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months) or tothe study group (in-office visits at baseline, 6, and 12 months, and telemedicine visits at 3 and 9 months).Telemedicine visits were conducted using videoconferencing apps that were readily accessible to the patient/caregivers. Outcomes were feasibility, usability, and the noninferiority of telemedicine compared to in-officevisits in PD patients regarding clinical progression and initiation of pharmacological/nonpharmacologicaltreatments over 1-year follow-up.ResultsResults: We included 209 PD patients from 6 countries (Nigeria, Spain, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Egypt, andUruguay), mean age 64.9 12.2 years, 59% males, median Hoehn & Yahr stage 2 (1–4). Overall, diseaseprogression (MDS-Unified PD rating scale), quality of life (PD-Quality of life 39-items) scores, and therapeuticchanges were similar in both groups. After 1 year, 124 patients 48.3%, (control group) and 52.1% (study group)completed the visits (P = 0.52), with a similar high rate of patient’s satisfaction with the visits (P = 0.57).ConclusionsConclusions: This study represents real-world telemedicine practice in different world regions using atelemedicine approach complementary to in-person visits. Based on these results, feasibility, clinicalmanagement, PD disease progression, and patient’s quality of life are similar when using telemedicine versusin-office visits. Future research should explore ways to integrate different healthcare technologies for long-termPD management. 2026-05-12T06:27:25Z 2026-05-12T06:27:25Z 2026-02 info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2330-1619 https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11607 10.1002/mdc3.70314 2330-1619 eng Movement Disorders Clinical Practice. 2026, V. 13, n. 2, p. 419-429 https://doi.org/10.1002/mdc3.70314 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Wiley