PMD Alliance Announces Release of CME Course on Telehealth and DBS Case Studies

Jessica Karl, PhD, PA-C

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As part of PMD Alliance’s APProviders™ Consortium, PMD Alliance offers free, monthly CME topics for Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) by APPs in movement and related disorders. The APProviders™ Consortium addresses an unmet need, a lack of access to continuing medical education specific to movement disorders for APPs—Nurse Practitioners (NP) and Physician Assistants (PA). By releasing these topics, PMD Alliance is equipping APPs with resources to best serve their patients and further their work in neurology. This is one of many services provided to APPs through our APProviders™ Consortium.

The latest CME topic released by PMD Alliance is Telehealth and Deep Brain Stimulation Management Case Studies.

About Telehealth and Deep Brain Stimulation Management Case Studies

In this CME, Advanced Practice Providers will acquire a deeper understanding of the integration of telemedicine in deep brain stimulation (DBS) management. They’ll gain the knowledge to:

• Identify an appropriate DBS patient for remote programming.
• Evaluate the remote programming capabilities of all three DBS systems (Medtronic, Abbott, Boston Scientific).
• Explain the benefits of remote DBS programming.
• Recognize the potential limitations of remote DBS programming.
• Implement remote DBS programming into their clinical practice.

CME faculty member Andrew Imbus, PA-C, from Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles Medical Center, explains that telemedicine, the practice of remote diagnosis and treatment, has already begun revolutionizing access to healthcare: "COVID 19 has sling-shotted the use of telehealth,” he said, decreasing disparities between people who are often more easily able to access care in urban centers versus others in more distant rural areas. Telemedicine has been widely accepted, with studies showing that "97% of patients are satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of care being delivered."

Faculty member Jessica Karl, PhD, PA-C, an Assistant Professor in Neurological Sciences at Rush University Medical Center, adds, when it comes to DBS and movement disorders, “We’re dealing with progressive disorders that require ongoing management.” Patients typically have to come into a clinic a handful of times in the first six months after DBS device implantation, which presents a burden for patients traveling great distances or who may not drive and must rely on care partner availability. Integrating telemedicine into DBS programming is, she says, “an excellent way to break up that burden.”

This CME is a crucial topic that will help APPs provide critical patient management and education in DBS treatment.

Telehealth and Deep Brain Stimulation Management Case Studies is jointly provided by Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and Parkinson & Movement Disorder Alliance, and it relies on the expertise of our faculty: Jessica Karl, PhD, PA-C; Andrew Imbus, PA-C; and Laura Sperry, MSN, RN, ANP-C. This activity is made possible through support provided by Abbott Laboratories.

About Jessica Karl, PhD, PA-C

Jessica A. Karl, PhD, PA-C is a Certified Physician Assistant at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. After receiving her PhD and her physician assistant training at Rush University, she accepted a position as Assistant Professor in the Movement Disorder Section of Neurological Sciences at Rush University Medical Center. Her interests include Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and interventional therapies for Parkinson disease and other movement disorders.

About Andrew Imbus, PA-C

Andrew Imbus, PA-C is a movement disorders physician assistant at Kaiser Permanente and is part of the clinical faculty of the Kaiser Permanente school of medicine in Los Angeles, CA. He is an EEG and sleep disorder technician and used these skills during college. After earning his Master of Physician Assistant practice from the University of Southern California, he began his physician assistant career in pediatric and general neurology before joining the movement disorders team at Kaiser Permanente. Andrew provides neurology-based lectures at multiple schools in the Los Angeles area and, outside of work, he is a father of twins and seeing them learn new things fills up his free time.

About Laura Sperry, MSN, RN, ANP-C

Laura Sperry, MSN, RN, ANP-C is the DBS Program Director at University of California, Davis Department of[DR1] [DR2] Neurology in Northern California. After receiving a BS in genetics from U.C. Davis, a BS in nursing from Johns Hopkins University, and an MSN-ANP from U.C. San Francisco, she began her career as an ANP with U.C. Davis Urogynecology and in 2012 joined the U.C. Davis Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) program. As DBS Program Director, she coordinates the patient journey through the pre-surgical evaluation process and post-surgical stimulator programming utilizing all three DBS systems currently available. Laura is also one of the facilitators for the post-DBS Parkinson support group Staying Healthy with Deep Brain Stimulation.

About Parkinson & Movement Disorder Alliance (PMD Alliance)

Parkinson & Movement Disorder Alliance is an independent, national 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to providing opportunities for people to learn, live life more fully, and spark meaningful connections around them. PMD Alliance serves people across the United States and is not affiliated with any medical practice or institution. PMD Alliance is committed to keeping our community safe and healthy. Visit PMDAlliance.org to learn more.

About the APProviders™ Consortium

The APProviders™ Consortium is an initiative sponsored by PMD Alliance that engages Advanced Practice Providers, or APPs (nurse practitioners and physician assistants) working in movement and related disorders. APProviders™ aims to support the ability of APPs in movement and related disorders to network and learn within their field of practice. The APProviders™ Consortium offers an online website and app that allows for messaging, shared learning and collaboration across the country, monthly CME topics, and an annual APP Conference to be launched on June 16, 2022 as a part of the ATMRD (Advanced Therapeutics in Movement & Related Disorders) Congress. The APProviders portal is an online forum for APPs to share information, resources, and knowledge.

This is the only organized network for movement and related disorder APPs in the United States. APPs play a vital role in the patient care team in healthcare settings. Because of the APP’s whole person, patient-centric approach to care, the service and care model is ideally aligned with the philosophies and practices of PMD Alliance.