Neurologists who specialize in movement disorders see patients each week in the UFMDC clinic. The physicians spend time with each patient diagnosing and optimizing therapy. Clinics include botulinum toxin treatments, Parkinson's disease, dystonia, Huntington's disease, programming DBS devices, and other medical and surgical treatments for hundreds of different disorders.
What makes UF's clinic different is that the physicians spend the time necessary to deliver the best possible patient care. They have the advantage of a supporting staff and interdisciplinary team that is as good as anywhere in the world.
At every appointment, physicians have the patient perform a standardized rating scale for one of the major movement disorders (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Tremor Rating Scale, Unified Dystonia Rating Scale, Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale, etc). They also note all of the medications a patient may be taking; the patient will also recount a complete history of their disorder and fill out several quality-of-life questionnaires (QOLs).
From this information, the movement disorder neurologists will make a diagnosis and have a long discussion with the patient about options. The interdisciplinary team will be made available to the patient to take care of every possible need. If surgery is needed the workup is initiated and a special fast track process started. Surgery page.
Every patient is given the option, on site, of participating in cutting edge research about their movement disorder. Read more about it on the Research page.
For more information about the surgical or medical treatment of movement disorders or to refer a patient, call the University of Florida Consultation Center, and ask for our patient liason Rachelle Stephen (352-273-5566). If you are a new patient Rachelle will walk you through the process of getting an appointment. If you have Parkinson's disease or another movement disorder, we want to see you!
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