University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center's recently launched Parkinson's Disease Care, New York program will use a virtual network to offer free care to nearly 500 Parkinson's patients across the state.
As part of the program, participating patients will never have to leave their home. Instead, they'll work with URMC physicians through a teleconferencing system. Patients who have iPhones can use a specific app — mPower, created by URMC and Sage Bionetworks — to better track their symptoms and share the information with their physician.
Grants from the Greater Rochester Health Foundation and the Edmond J. Safra Foundation support the new program. Around 400 of the Parkinson's patients who will be served live in the greater Rochester area.