PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Neurol.

Sec. Movement Disorders

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1622283

The Future of Parkinson's Care: Strategic Approach for Expanding Referral Access

Provisionally accepted
Sana AslamSana Aslam1*Anjail Zarinah SharriefAnjail Zarinah Sharrief2Samantha K. HoldenSamantha K. Holden1MIchelle FullardMIchelle Fullard1Jodi HoltropJodi Holtrop3,4Anna MawAnna Maw1,4Amy W AmaraAmy W Amara1
  • 1University of Colorado, Denver, United States
  • 2Department of Neurology, McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the Institute for Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease, Houston, United States
  • 3Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, United States
  • 4Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science (ACCORDS), University of Colorado, Aurora, United States

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Parkinson's disease (PD) affects over one million Americans, with prevalence expected to double by 2040, creating rising challenges for healthcare systems. While neurologist-led care, particularly by movement disorder specialists (MDS), is associated with improved patient outcomes, only a small fraction of PD patients access this level of expertise. Many, various, barriers lead to delays or missed opportunities for advanced treatments such as deep brain stimulation and infusion therapies. This Perspective article issues a call to action for improving referral pathways and care coordination in PD, addressing both clinical and systems-level gaps. We propose several pragmatic strategies, including the development of standardized referral criteria supported by clinical decision tools, expanded use of telemedicine and eConsult platforms, and enhanced provider and patient education to promote timely and appropriate access to specialty care. As early diagnostic technologies become more available, the need for structured referral pathways will become even more critical.

Keywords: Parkinsons Disease, access to care, Referral pathways, eConsult, Movement Disorders

Received: 03 May 2025; Accepted: 21 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Aslam, Sharrief, Holden, Fullard, Holtrop, Maw and Amara. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Sana Aslam, University of Colorado, Denver, United States

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material