There are some key messages many patients never get to hear:
Parkinson’s disease is extremely heterogenous – no two patients are alike. Further, the majority of patients do well and maintain their active and rewarding lifestyle.
Patient education is often unhelpful and anxiety inducing. Information from Internet sources is misleading, and the majority of patients do not have access to thought leaders. People with Parkinson’s disease – no matter how early or advanced – vary in access to healthcare but share a need to better understand what Parkinson’s means to them.
I am pleased to share something new in patient education, in helping Parkinson’s patients better understand and manage their condition: Mediflix, the first free streaming video service offering health education that entertains as well as informs. Providing unprecedented access to an expert medical community, Mediflix addresses the needs of patients to find reliable information that delivers both advice and inspiration with original programs about people who are living well with Parkinson’s disease.
We’ve created a unique patient education service providing information and entertainment that isn’t available through any other source. Going beyond generic facts and “cookie-cutter” details, we’re trying to talk to you as an individual. The goal of Mediflix is to give you information that will help your sense of what is possible, offer education in a way that is engaging and addresses things that interest you. This is a unique approach, with the potential to provide something that is missing.
My hope with this new streaming platform is that no matter what stage, what symptoms you are experiencing, you will watch some of this and feel better knowing that you’re not alone, that there’s hope and that there are many new and existing strategies to improve your sense of well-being.
Matthew B. Stern, MD, is the Parker Family Professor Emeritus of Neurology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Director Emeritus of the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center. Dr Stern received his B.A. from Harvard University and medical degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He completed his training in neurology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Stern cofounded Penn’s Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center, which he helped build into one of the premier centers of its kind in the world. Dr Stern has authored or co-authored numerous papers on Parkinson’s disease (PD) and related disorders and edited and/or co-edited 8 books. Dr. Stern has been principal investigator or co-principal investigator of many studies related to PD and movement disorders. He was also co-chair of VA Cooperative Study 468 investigating Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson’s disease and founding director of the Philadelphia VA Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center. He serves on numerous consulting boards and has lectured throughout the world.
