Parkinson’s UK to launch first app library for its beneficiaries 

31 Jan 2018 News

Parkinson’s UK has partnered with a health technology platform to create a library of health and care apps and devices to provide a new kind of support to beneficiaries, as part of a wider programme to expand the digital services it offers. 

Our Mobile Health, a platform which locates and assesses new digital health products, will find and review apps, which will then be tested by a user panel set up by Parkinson’s UK. 

Julie Dodd, director of digital transformation and communication, said: "Over the last year we've seen enquiries about apps and devices increase significantly. People turn to us for guidance on which apps and devices are best, and until now we've not been able to make recommendations with complete confidence."

Devices and apps can help people manage the condition in new ways, such as by monitoring changes in beneficiaries' physical state. Traditionally Parkinson’s UK has focused on research involving new drugs. 

Speaking to Civil Society News, Steve Ford, chief executive of Parkinson’s UK said that : “If don’t respond to this and start to offer new products and services then who’s to say in ten years’ time whether a lot of core business could be delivered by other organisations, in other parts of the world potentially.” 

Parkinson’s UK has introduced a range of measures to change its way of working and how it supports beneficiaries. 

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